


It Won't Be Long Now

by cutielemon07



Series: Autism Every Month [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: ADHD, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autism, Bisexual Alexander Hamilton, Canon Disabled Character, Canon Sexuality, Cerebral Palsy, Characters to be added, Demisexual Aaron Burr, Disability, Disabled Character, Echolalia, Epilepsy, Foster Care, Gay John Laurens, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, Nonbinary Marquis de Lafayette, Paralysis, Physical Disability, Poor Martha Washington, Trans Aaron Burr, Turtles, deafblind character, lots of turtles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2018-08-31 09:28:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8573068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutielemon07/pseuds/cutielemon07
Summary: "I'm sorry your last placement didn't work out.""They could handle the arthritis. The diabetes. The kidney failure. But the cancer was too much." Alex folded his arms angrily. "Why does nobody care about me?""People do care about you, Alex." Phillipa said. "I care about you.""No you don't." Alex said. "I'm just your job."Alexander Hamilton is a sick kid trying to do his best to make it through life, which hasn't exactly been very kind to him. The problem is, his family is dead and foster families can't look after him because of his health problems.Enter George and Martha Washington and their band of misfit foster children.AKA, Yet another Washington Foster Family Fic.





	1. A Million Things

Alex was used to this by now. Packing his things because another foster family couldn't handle him, ready to go from the orphanage to yet another home. It wasn't like any of this was even his fault.  

Alex never knew his father, who'd left before he was born. He never knew who he was, let alone if he was still alive. And even if he was still alive, he probably wouldn't want anything to do with him anyway. So growing up, it had just been Alex, his mother and his brother James. Alex was asthmatic and always falling ill and his mother would always look after him. She knew he was weaker than James. James knew it too. Though it never occurred to him to pick on his younger brother. Instead, he would protect him.  

Alex was seven when he was diagnosed with diabetes. His mother worked hard to be able to afford his insulin. They could hardly afford anything else and certainly no luxuries. Not once did Alex or James complain. 

Two years later, the small family was dealt yet another blow. Alex was having trouble moving around without pain. His joints were always stiff and hot. His mother took him to the doctor who diagnosed him with arthritis. Again, Alex didn't complain. He knew he had to keep going, moving forward. 

Most of the time, his joints hurt him so badly that he was unable to attend school, so he educated himself with library books. Sometimes his neighbor would come over and teach him things. Usually it was writing, other times it was mathematics, but she would always use different languages-English, French, Spanish and Hebrew, she _was_ Jewish after all. 

When Alex was twelve, he fell ill. At first it was muscle pain, a headache and a lot of vomiting. Alex's mother did her best to take care of him, even when she fell ill herself. He didn't get better. In fact, he got worse. And so did his mother. His mother could only afford medicine for one of them and because Alex was a sickly kid, she gave it to him. His mother died trying to comfort Alex as he was writhing in pain. 

James found them and called the doctor. Neighbors raised money for Alex's medical treatment and eventually, he recovered. He had been suffering from Yellow Fever, his mother unfortunately unable to afford a vaccine for him. He thought it was just a normal bug. And he figured so did his mother, since he was probably given the wrong medicine. Alex was devastated. What his mother had had was curable. But it had left him with kidney failure.

As Alex had been in the hospital, James was placed in a foster family and Alex never saw his brother again. Because Alex went to live with his much older cousin Peter. It lasted about two months. That was when Alex found Peter's body when he chose to commit suicide-by hanging. So Alex went to live with a foster family about five minutes away from his old home. He loved that family and they loved him. Everything went fine. Until the hurricane. They all died. Even the dog. Alex-by some grace of God-survived. 

This hurricane was massive news around the world, after all, an entire island had been destroyed. For some reason-an American family from New York, the Hamiltons, chose to adopt Alex. That was really weird. But Alex had a feeling that they adopted him out of pity-maybe to look good to the neighbors-and weren't really aware of his complex medical history. When they found out just how bad it was... Well, that was Alex's first experience with the American Child Protective Services.

Since then, Alex had bounced around from foster home to foster home, none of them able to care for his medical needs for very long. And in his most recent foster placement, he'd been diagnosed with leukemia. The parents were nice-good people. As had been the other families he'd stayed with. Alex considered himself lucky in that regard. The family felt so bad for him, but they just couldn't (afford to) look after him. So they wanted to give him up to some family that could. But Alex knew that there probably wouldn't be anyone who could look after an arthritic, asthmatic, diabetic teenager with serious kidney issues. Oh and cancer. So he didn't keep his hopes up. 

Alex was sitting on his backpack in the orphanage. Lin, the chief social worker there, had told Alex something probably comforting-after all, he spoke with a smile-but Alex wasn't paying attention. He knew Lin well enough by now to know what he was saying. Lin was nice. He liked Alex and Alex liked him in return. They'd bonded over the fact that they were both immigrants from the Caribbean. Lin would take Alex to his appointments at the free clinic. Buy Alex sugar free ice cream and other treats whenever Alex got an A-all the time. Yeah. Lin was nice.

In fact, there were two items that Alex considered dear to him-a leather bound journal with 'A.F.' embossed in the corner-Alex's birth initials-that was given to him by his mother on his twelfth birthday and a rather expensive looking fountain pen gifted to him by Lin the first Christmas that Alex arrived at the orphanage once Lin had seen how much that Alex loved to write. Lin was just the kind of guy to get all the kids personal Christmas gifts. But while other kids left and got fostered or adopted, Alex kept coming back because of his medical issues. So of course none of this was his fault.

When there was a knock at the door, Lin went to answer it. At the door was Phillipa, Alex's social worker. She was wearing a sympathetic smile as she took Alex away from the orphanage to yet another foster home. Alex said a rather emotionless goodbye to Lin, the man who'd cared for him over the past three years, and the two of them climbed into Phillipa's car and then she drove away. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Phillipa spoke out first. "I'm sorry your last placement didn't work out."

"They could handle the arthritis. The diabetes. The kidney failure. But the cancer was too much." Alex folded his arms angrily. "Why does _nobody_ care about me?"

"People do care about you, Alex." Phillipa said. " _I_ care about you."

"No you don't." Alex said. "I'm just your job."

"Lin cares about you."

"I'm his job too." 

"Yet you treasure that pen he gave you." Phillipa sighed. "Alex, I've done my best to find you a new foster home. I called around through the state, but nobody could take you."

" _There's_ a surprise." Alex's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"But there's a wonderful family out of state that would be delighted to take you." 

"You're kidding?"

"I'm not kidding." Phillipa glanced at Alex in the passenger seat. "But unfortunately, they're in Virginia." 

"Virginia?!" Alex's hands snapped to his sides and he grabbed the seat as tight as he could. "Phillipa, I don't wanna go to Virginia!" 

"I'm sorry, Alex, but you don't get to decide." Phillipa said. "This family, well, I feel they're a great family for you. The Washingtons." 

"Oh great." Alex rolled his eyes. "What's the catch? They have Kids? Pets?" 

"They have four other foster children."

"Sending me to a crowded house. Way to lose your job, Phillipa."

"Alex, don't take that tone with me." Phillipa said. "The Washingtons are your best chance at a family. Don't screw this up." 

Alex knew she meant it. 

They drove in silence the rest of the way to the airport, with not even the radio on. When they got to the airport, Phillipa parked the car and let out a long sigh. 

"Alex. You're a good kid." She said. "You try, despite your many obstacles. I chose the Washingtons because they have a reputation with kids like you."

" _Useless_ , you mean."

"Alex, you're _not_ useless." 

"I am. Nobody wants me."

Phillipa took a printed out plane ticket from her bag. "The Washingtons want you. And you-"

Alex snatched the ticket. "We'll see how much they want me when they realise they have to care for me."

"This is probably the last time we'll ever see each other, Alex."

"I know." Alex said. "Thank you." 

"Don't forget to take your medication." Phillipa said as Alex exited her car for the airport. 

* * *

Over in Virginia, George and Martha Washington were rounding up their children, ready for another day. But this wouldn't be another day. This would be the day where they get a new member of their growing family. It was also a Saturday morning. That meant running practice for Lafayette, art classes for John, sewing club for Hercules and cooking classes for Aaron. Just as long as he didn't injure himself again. 

"Come on, Hercules!" George called out. "Everyone else is at the table having breakfast already!"

Lafayette was giggling as they took more of Martha's crepes. For them, it was almost like being back in France. John had his hands over his ears, rocking and muttering to himself. Soothing himself to the chaos around him. And Aaron was trying to tune out the back and forth shouting between George, Martha and Hercules. He felt sorry for John now. It must be hard for him with his hypersensitive hearing. And Aaron was Deaf!

Finally, Hercules zoomed into the kitchen in his wheelchair, snatched a piece of toast off the table and carried on going. George loudly cleared his throat to get Hercules' attention. It worked. But it also garnered snickering from his siblings-Aaron and Lafayette in particular. John was still muttering 'turtle' over and over again to himself. Hercules spun around and sheepishly looked at George.

"And where were _you_ going?"

"Um... Sewing club?" Hercules offered.

"No." George said simply. "You're going to have breakfast here. With your family."

"But George-"

"But George nothing." George said. "You know how John is with routine." 

Hercules nodded and grudgingly went over to the table, seating himself next to Aaron. 

"Don't forget, Hercules, you have a hospital appointment this afternoon." George said. "Martha will be taking you."

"But it's always you." Hercules frowned.

"Yes, well today it won't be." George scooped up some scrambled eggs and put them on his plate. "Because will be picking up your new foster sibling from the airport."

"Why the airport?" Lafayette asked.

"Because they're coming from New York." Martha said. "John, honey, eat your food with your fork." 

John grunted and picked up his fork. 

"New York?" Aaron asked. "Do they know Philip Schuyler?"

"I doubt it, Aaron." George said. "They're sixteen years old."

"Yeah, but _I_ know Philip Schuyler." 

"You're actually _from_ New York. Your new foster sibling is originally from the Caribbean."

"Really?" Lafayette stopped eating. "Wow."

"You'll get to meet them later, Lafayette." George said. 

"What's their name?" John asked. "Turtle."

"Alex Hamilton." Martha said. 

* * *

Alex hated the plane ride. He was put next to a man and his wife and their crying baby. The crying baby annoyed him to no end. He tried to look out of the window and think about other things. Like the Washingtons and their four other kids. What would they be like? But still that failed. Because the baby was too loud. And every time he had to take his medication, the husband would look at him as if he was taking hard drugs. He just wondered why Phillipa couldn't go with him. 

When Alex's plane touched down, he had to wait to leave the plane. Behind the family with the baby. And though his head hurt, his joints hurt even worse-he could feel the heat radiating out of them. Suddenly Alex found himself wishing he could sit down again and take some pain pills. As he left the plane and walked to the baggage carousel, he almost collapsed twice. He hadn't eaten anything on the plane-not exactly good for his diabetes. Still, he managed to stagger out to the arrivals hall, dragging his backpack behind him. It was there that he was met by an older man.

"Are you okay, son?" He asked. 

"Don't call me son." Alex snapped. 

"You look like death warmed over." The man said. "Where are your parents?"

"Dead and a deadbeat." Alex hitched his backpack on his shoulder and began to walk away. 

The man pondered for a few seconds. "Are you Alex Hamilton, by any chance?"

Alex turned around to face the man. "Yes." He frowned. "How do you-don't tell me. _You're_ Mr Washington?" He wasn't expecting Mr Washington to be _Senator_ George Washington. _That_ was certainly a surprise. 

"Mr Washington is too formal, son, call me George."

"I'm not your son." Alex said through gritted teeth. 

"Do you want to go and get your suitcase?" George asked. 

"I've got all my things." 

Somehow that hurt George. He should have been used to it, after all. John came with next to nothing and Aaron came with next to nothing. But Lafayette had a number of belongings and so did Hercules, so maybe it was just John and Aaron's bad luck that they had to go through numerous foster homes. Just like Alex. "Come on then, son-"

"Call me son one more time-!" Alex stopped himself from going any further. People were staring. "Let's just go." He dropped his voice to little more than a whisper."

George would be lying if he said he didn't feel affronted by Alex's shouting, but still cleared his throat. "Oh, I'm sorry. I suppose it's my fault for assuming pronouns. Would you tell me what they are?"

"Why do _you_ care? You're only going to end up abandoning me anyway." Alex said quietly. 

"Alex-"

"Alexander."

"Fine. Alexander, I've looked at your file. You've not stayed with a family for more than two months and that includes your former adoptive family. I assure you, your home with us will be permanent."

Alex scoffed. "That's what they _all_ say."

"You'll see what I mean when you meet the rest of the family." George smiled. 

Alex shrugged. "We'll see how long this lasts." 

Alex was led out of the arrivals hall by George, who also insisted that Alex eat something after seeing him struggling to stand and walk. George also led Alex to his car, a navy sedan. Normal. Understated for a politician. Even more so for a politician in the South. Didn't exactly scream out 'family man' either. Still, Alex got into George's car, sitting in the passenger side and dumping his backpack at his feet. George got into the drivers side and talked as he drove. Alex tuned him out. He knew that George would only abandon him somehow, just like all the other families. 

It was only after George had put on the radio that Alex noticed that they were driving through a very well-off area. He was both fascinated and afraid. He'd never seen such big houses before in his life. George clearly wasn't looking to cash a check for looking after him. Then again, he was a senator. So of course he could afford to live in a massive house like the ones they were passing.

George slowed down as he approached gates. Gates? Alex couldn't help but think to himself; Holy crap this guy is loaded. George drove through the gates and chuckled to himself at Alex's reaction. Though Alex heard it, he didn't say anything. He was too in awe of the biggest house-no, mansion-that he'd ever seen. George came to a stop in the driveway and got out of the car. 

"Looks like Martha's not home yet." George said. 

"Martha?" Alex asked, getting out of the car.

"My wife." George locked his car and walked to the front door. 

Alex followed him. "Oh." He said with a nod.

"She's taken our foster son Hercules to a doctor's appointment."  George said. "Alright, Alexander, come in." 

Slowly, Alex followed George into the house-mansion-and looked around. It reminded Alex of the TARDIS in Doctor Who-a favorite of Lin's-everything looked bigger on the inside. He was ready to take back what he said to Phillipa earlier. This place was _not_ overcrowded.

"Hello?" George called out loudly, to no answer. He turned to Alex. "Looks like we have the place to ourselves. I'll take you to your room and you can get settled." 

Alex nodded. "Okay." He said. 

Alex followed George around the mansion and listened as he talked. Listened in the loosest sense of the word. He didn't really care what this man had to say. He knew he would be out of this place faster than he could say 'Alexander Hamilton'. They walked up some stairs and Alex found himself grateful that the Washingtons had a stair lift. Once upstairs, they passed by some rooms, clearly bedrooms. There was a colorful one with clothes strewn about the floor and was that a _leg_? And then there was two contrasting rooms-a dimly lit one with a fluffy carpet and a lava lamp in the corner and a very well lit one with a lot of space, no carpet and a lot of lamps. Alex frowned. Weren't there supposed to be four other kids, not three? Still, he carried on walking after George until they reached a bedroom near the end of the hall. 

"Well, Alexander, this is your bedroom." George opened the door to a room that looked a lot like the colorful room. Only it was in shades of green. And a lot cleaner. And tidier. With no legs on the floor. 

Alex took a tentative step inside. "Um... It's green."

"Yes it is." George nodded. "Martha and I, we didn't know what color you liked. So we left the color as it was." 

"No. Green is fine." Alex said. Still confident that the Washingtons would throw him out-even though it would look bad on George, being a senator and all. 

"Good. Good." George nodded. "Why don't you get settled in? I'll call you when it's time for dinner. Then you can meet the rest of the Washington family." He smiled. 

Alex nodded and closed the door once George had walked away. Green. He liked green. But he probably wouldn't be at the Washingtons long enough for them to find out. He put his backpack on the floor and sat down on the bed. Springy. Almost like being back at the Jacksons. Their house was nice too. But a house it was. Not a mansion. 

Alex sighed as he took out his precious journal and pen and made another entry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's a foster family fic with a twist! Inspired by some other foster care AU's I've seen and by my mother, who is a social worker.  
> Apparently, disabled kids are the hardest to find foster homes for and sometimes, once they're fostered, other disabled kids get placed with that family too. So all the Hamilsquad have disabilities of some kind.  
> Alexander is inspired by real life Alexander Hamilton, who did have some serious health issues like kidney failure caused by the Yellow Fever he suffered as a child. When Eliza sang 'the fact that you're alive is a miracle', she was being serious. It's not only amazing that he lived as long as he did, but that he died from a gunshot wound, rather than his illnesses.  
> Aaron is Deaf-blind. He has cochlear implants which help him hear and he's legally blind. But not he's not fully either, like most Deaf-blind people.  
> John is autistic. Like me.  
> Hercules has spina bifida, which makes him paralysed.  
> And Lafayette is an amputee.  
> You'll find out their backstories as we go along. Also, all these abusive foster fics bothered me because that's not what most of them are like. And I know this because my mother is a social worker. So none of the Hamilsquad will have experienced abuse that isn't from their original homes-the ones they were taken away from. I hope I get this right-I've been asking my mother for advice, but she's a social worker in Britain, so bear that in mind.  
> Also, Lin and Phillipa are not Lin-Manuel Miranda and Phillipa Soo, they are simply OCs that are named for them.  
> Lastly, because his father left before he was born, Alexander's birth name is Alexander Faucette, not Hamilton. He was adopted into a family called Hamilton, which is why his last name is Hamilton.  
> (Title from ITH)


	2. Raise a Glass

That afternoon, Martha came back with the rest of the clan to find George sitting with his legs up on the couch. He was reading a tattered, worn out book and one that Martha recognised; Thomas Paine's Common Sense.

"Hello Martha." George turned a page. "Alexander is in their room. I think they just need some time to adjust." 

"Okay." Martha nodded. "Do you think they need anything? A drink? A sandwich?"

"I think I'd leave it. They're pretty agitated." George dog eared his page and set the book down on the coffee table. "So how did Hercules' appointment go?"

"It went fine. No more abnormal growth since the last surgery." Martha replied. 

"That's good." 

"I know. I've informed Sarah as well. Oh-remember, George that she's coming to see him next weekend."

"I haven't forgotten, Martha." George said. He turned to his foster children. "You have a new sibling. They're upstairs now, settling in. I don't want any of you disturbing them until they're ready to come out themselves. So Lafayette, Aaron, John, same drill. Only this time it's even more so since Alexander's health is... It's bad. They have a lot of serious health issues. And cancer. So just be quiet, let Alexander settle in and everything should be fine. Okay. Now that's out of the way, why don't you tell me how your days went-one at a time. Lafayette goes first." 

"Laf _always_ goes first." Hercules folded his arms and rolled his eyes. 

"Hercules, watch it." George warned. "Go on, Lafayette." 

"Well, my coach thinks that I should take part in more races." Lafayette shrugged. "But the last time I raced... I lost."

"Sweetie, you did your best." Martha said.

"My best wasn't enough."

"Laf, it's fine-" Aaron began.

"It was at the Paralympics and the whole world saw it." Lafayette said indignantly. 

"But nobody here thinks any less of you." George said. "We're all _so_ proud of you for making it that far. Martha and I particularly. And if anyone has anything to say, then they're either just jealous... Or they're not a good sport."

Lafayette nodded. They knew George was right.

"So Aaron, how did cooking go?" Martha asked. 

"It was fine." Aaron replied. "We made spanakopita today. Have you ever tried to make spanakopita with terrible eyesight?" 

"Aaron, son, you haven't got terrible eyesight." George said. "You're blind."

"Yeah, but I can still see. I'm not letting it hold me back." Aaron shrugged. "I can't let it hold me back. And listening for instructions is hard when you have to keep asking to repeat themselves." He began to panic.

"Aaron, don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure you did fine." Martha rubbed circles into his back, the only thing that could calm him down. 

"You kids need a more confidence in yourselves. You're _fine_ young adults." George said. "All four of you." He turned to John, who was curled up in one of the armchairs, scribbling on a sketch pad. "So John, how was art class?"

"Good." John answered. "I drew a turtle." He handed George his sketch pad and fiddled with his pencil. 

George looked at the drawing, which was very well done. John was a great artist, but he had to work hard to get at the level he was now. In fact, George remembered when John first started taking art classes, five years ago. He could barely draw a stick figure. But here he was now sketching out photorealistic drawings of turtles. John's favorite animal, of course.

"So which type of turtle is this then, John?" George asked. 

"Oh that is a softshell turtle." John said excitedly. "They're called softshell because their shells are soft. That should be obvious. But it allows them to move easily through water and mud because they can move up to fifteen miles an hour. You know they're native to the southeastern United States? But some of them are native to Southeast Asia. And- _and_ the females grow larger than the males." 

"That's very interesting, John." George said. John had said all this before, but it was nice to hear it again. John was passionate about his turtles. 

"Can I tell the new... Alexander?" John asked. 

"Maybe not now, John." George said gently. 

"Does Alexander not like turtles?" John sounded hurt. 

"Well, we don't know. We don't know much about Alexander yet. Let's just let them settle in. They have a big day tomorrow." 

John nodded. "Okay."

"Hercules. You've been oddly quiet. What's up, son?" 

"Nothing. You've just been busy with Lafayette and Aaron and John." Hercules shrugged. 

"How did sewing club go?" George asked.

"Good." Hercules nodded. "Yeah. Betsy's showing us some new patterns." 

"And you're still determined to be a tailor?" Martha sighed. "Are you sure about that?"

"It's all I want to do, Martha. It's my destiny!" Hercules whined.

"What Martha means, Hercules, is that you should probably study something-like maybe computers-as a fall back."

"I want to be a tailor." Hercules said adamantly.

"And I'm sure you'll be a great tailor." Aaron said. 

"Thank you, Aaron." Hercules nodded. "Thank you for your support."

* * *

Upstairs, Alex had finished writing. He ran his fingers over the pen that Lin had given him. It was a dark metallic green color with an engraving on the pen lid-a simple 'Alex'. It was the first thing that he'd been given in America that he could actually call his. As he put the pen in the box, he saw the note from Lin on the inside.

' **To Alex,**

**Write like you're running out of time**

**From Lin** '

Alex sighed. Lin was a great social worker. And Phillipa was right. Lin did care about him. But he cared about all the kids. Gave them all personal gifts. But Alex was probably Lin's favorite child. And that was probably because Alex was from Nevis and Lin, the Dominican Republic. They had the Caribbean in common, whereas all the other kids in the system were American. And although he'd been gone just a few hours, Alex kind of missed Lin. But he was confident he'd be back with him soon.

Alex stood up. Again, his knees ached, but he pushed through the pain and walked out of the room. He could hear talking downstairs-everyone else must be home. He walked down the hall and sat at the top of the stairs, his elbows resting on his knees and his head resting in his hands. 

A taller dark skinned boy with curly, black, _big_ hair came almost running up the stairs, but came to a stop upon seeing Alex there. The boy looked at Alex curiously, before pulling his hair back into a ponytail. 

"You must be Alexander Hamilton, non?" The boy said in a thick French accent. 

"Uh, yeah." Alex said. "I am." 

"Ah! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" He smiled and took a seat next to Alex. "I am Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette. Though 'Lafayette' or 'Laf' is fine. I am, how you say, your foster sibling."

"You're my brother." Alex said. 

"Non, your _sibling_. I'm non-binary. Genderfluid." Lafayette corrected gently. "They and them pronouns. And yourself?"

Alex made a mental note of that. "Um. He and him, I guess. I'm a boy." He shrugged. 

"George tells me your health is bad. Is it true you have cancer?" Lafayette asked. They looked concerned.

Alex nodded. "Yeah. That's why my last family gave me up."

"Oh. Je suis désolée. I'm sorry to hear that." 

"Don't be." Alex sighed. "On top of the diabetes and the asthma and the arthritis and the kidney failure, I just don't think they could take it."

Lafayette's eyes widened each time Alex listed off a medical complaint. "And you are still alive. Mon frère, you keep fighting. Tu est ma lion."

"Uh..."

"Sorry, I forget that not everyone speaks French. You're my lion."

"It's okay, Lafayette. I speak fluent French. And Spanish. And Hebrew."

" _You and I will get along fine, Alexander_." Lafayette smiled.

" _Until the Washingtons throw me out_." 

Lafayette looked personally offended. "Lion, they will _not_ throw you out."

"How do you know that?" Alex asked. 

"Because I have been with them the past quatre année." Lafayette replied. "Before I lived with the Washingtons, I lived with my parents and we moved to America. But they died."

"Same here." Alex said. "But my dad's a deadbeat. I mean, he probably died in that hurricane. Either way, he's not in my life."

"I am sorry to hear this, Alexander." Lafayette said sincerely. "My parents died together. In a car accident. I survived it. But not without a cost, ma frère. I lost both of my legs."

"Oh." Alex blinked, uncertain of what to say. 

"Oui. It was hard at first, but then I met George and Martha. They fostered me and took me in as their own." Lafayette continued. "About a year later, John arrived. You will like John. He is very nice. Then we had Aaron just a few months later. He is hard to get along with. But he has been through a lot. And Hercules came last year. He is very much, how you say, a mother hen."

"Why do you say that?" Alex asked. "How you say? You speak fluent English."

"I say it to, how you say, fuck with you, ma frère." Lafayette smirked. 

"And you all live together?" Alex asked. 

"Oui." Lafayette answered as he stood up. "Come on! Come and meet your brothers!"

"I don't think I can-"

"Of course you can!" Lafayette said encouragingly. "Tu est ma lion!" They helped Alex to his feet and Alex let out a pained grunt. "Are you okay?"

"I ran out of medication for my arthritis." Alex admitted. "It hurts like hell."

"I can't imagine." Lafayette said. "George and Martha will be able to help. Come on." They took Alex's arm and began to guide him down the stairs. 

"What if they can't? I'm a ward of the state. I don't have insurance."

"George is a senator. He has connections." Lafayette helped Alex off the last step and they looked surprised at Alex's small stature. "Mon dieu. Alexander, you are so small."

"I know." Alex said. "It's because of my kidney problems."

Lafayette pulled Alex into a hug with Alex barely reaching Lafayette's chest. "Tu est ma _petit_ lion. My _little_ lion. You have made it so far."

"Laf!" A voice called out. "Who're you talking to?" 

Lafayette let go of Alex. Alex peeled away from Lafayette to see a burly, muscular teen sitting in a wheelchair. Well, the top half of him was muscular. The bottom... Not so much. He was still physically imposing enough to intimidate Alex, who moved slightly behind Lafayette.

"There is no need to be afraid, Alexander." Lafayette chuckled. "This is Hercules. He is your brother."

"He's so big." Alex whispered. 

"Well, that's only because you're so little." Hercules said. "I'm Hercules Mulligan. I'm sure Laf's told you all about me." 

"Not really." Alex said. 

"Not really?!" Hercules tsked. "Laf, I'm so disappointed in you." 

"I only met him myself five minutes ago!" Lafayette said, rather loudly. 

"I bet you told him all about your leg issue, right, Dr House?" Hercules raised an eyebrow. 

"Now it's your turn to tell him about your spine issue, Professor X." Lafayette said with a smirk. 

Alex looked at the two with a mix of confusion and fear.

"Oh, petit lion, we're joking with each other. It's what siblings do."

"Are you all...?" Alex pointed to Lafayette's legs and Hercules' wheelchair. 

"Disabled? Yeah. Aaron's Deaf and blind." Hercules said. 

"And John is autistic." Lafayette said.

"Deaf... _And_ blind?" Alex's eyebrows shot up. "How the... How? Just how?"

"He can see. And he can hear." Hercules said. "It's just best you talk to him for yourself."

"And how do I do that if he's Deaf _and_ blind?" Alex asked.

"Just like you would a normal person." A voice from behind said, to giggles from Lafayette and Hercules. 

Alex nearly jumped a foot in the air. Standing in front of him was a bald boy. With a feminine figure. Probably transgender. Wearing really thick glasses. And hearing aids? No. Couldn't be because of the wire and the... Weird thing on his head. Cochlear implant most likely. 

"Are you Sherlock Holmes-ing me?" The boy asked. 

"Sherlock Holmes. Good one, Aaron. That'll be Alexander's name." Hercules said. 

"Uh, no?" Alex said. "No." He shook his head.

"I'm Aaron Burr." He put his hand out. "You're my new brother." 

"I guess I am." Alex cleared his throat. "Alexander Hamilton. So what's the deal with the..."

"I wasn't born Deaf or blind, Alexander. It was just something that happened." Aaron said. "So you have cancer then?"

"I-uh-well..."

"See how hard it is to answer a question like that?" Aaron asked. 

"I told you Aaron wasn't the easiest to get along with." Lafayette said. 

"So what about John?" Alex asked. 

"Oh, he's probably drawing some turtles." Hercules said. "How much do you know about turtles?" 

"Nothing beyond what I've seen in Finding Nemo." Alex replied. 

Hercules, Lafayette and Aaron all grinned to each other. 

"What?"

"You and John are going to have so much fun together." Lafayette smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, John still loves turtles. So much so that all the information about softshell turtles is 100% accurate.  
> Betsy is Betsy Ross.  
> Lin is from the Dominican Republic because Usnavi.  
> I just imagined Lafayette as a Paralympic sprinter. Like Oscar Pistorius, but without the murder. I also imagine Lafayette as more willing to talk than the others, besides maybe Hercules.
> 
> As for Aaron... Wait for it.
> 
> Lastly, no. I'm not going to try and put this world into a world that makes sense like I have in the Seasons of Hamilsquad. It'll just be a bit weird, but if you read that, generally the rules are going to be the same.


	3. Every Disadvantage I have learned to Manage

George walked over to his foster teenagers, having noticed them all congregated at the bottom of the stairs. "What's up, guys?" He asked. 

"Nothing, George." Hercules answered.

George turned to Aaron. "So Aaron, what's up?" 

"The new kid wandered down here." Aaron replied and moved away so George could still the much smaller teen. 

"Oh." George had been expecting a prank or something. Not quite this. "Hello Alexander."

"It's Alex." He corrected. "Just call me Alex." 

"Okay then. Hello Alex." George said with a slight chuckle. "What brings you down here?"

"He told me he ran out of his arthritis medicine." Lafayette said. "Est ce vrai, petit lion?"

"Oui, c'est vrai." Alex said with a nod. "It's true."

"We can't have that, now, can we?" George frowned. "What medication were you taking, Alex?"

Alex didn't answer. 

"Lion?" Lafayette pressed. 

"Naproxen." Alex relented. "But it still hurts." 

"Maybe we should try you on a different medication then." George said. 

"You won't keep me around long enough for me to try them. Just like the other families." Alex frowned. 

"Alex. You've met your siblings. You know I wouldn't give you up because of your health issues." George said. "I'm even taking you to the hospital tomorrow so we can get your chemotherapy sorted. Your poor health means nothing to me. I want to see you grow and flourish into the person you're supposed to be. Let me get to know you. Tell me, what are your pronouns?"

Alex sighed. "He and him."

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" George smiled. 

"Why did you ask about pronouns?" 

"I learned not to assume with Lafayette and especially Aaron." George replied with a smile. "Are you okay with ibuprofen?"

"I can't take that." Alex said. "My kidney failure. It's why I take the naproxen."

"Okay. We'll find something for you, Alex. I can't have you in pain." George said. "You're diabetic. Did you take your insulin already? Do you need a top-up?"

"I took the insulin upstairs." Alex said quietly. "Lin got some for me yesterday."

"Who's Lynn?"

"My social worker." 

"Well, she's not going to be your social worker any more."

" _He_. Lin's a guy."

"Oh." George cleared his throat. "I... Shouldn't have assumed."

"No." Alex said.

"Okay. Well this family has a a social worker. He's visiting on Monday. I hope you like him."

Hercules snapped his fingers. "Ooh, Leslie! Leslie's great. He's fun. A little lazy and reluctant to do some stuff, but he's great really."

"But Leslie broke his leg." Lafayette frowned. "We have Anthony now."

"Leslie's coming back to work. And he's coming to check up on all of you." George said. 

"That's great." Hercules smiled. "I love Leslie. He's the reason Aaron shaved his hair off." He elbowed Aaron playfully. 

Aaron put his hands in his jeans pockets. "No he's not." 

"Don't deny it, Daredevil, it's true." Hercules chuckled. 

Aaron sighed. "I'm going to my room." He ran up the stairs and out of view without anyone saying anything. 

"Have you met John yet?" George asked, changing the subject. 

"Uh, no." Alex shook his head. 

"You should. While Martha and I find some painkillers for you, go and talk to John." George put his hand on Alex's back, causing Alex to flinch. "Alex? Are you okay, son?"

"I'm not your son." Alex answered. 

Ignoring Alex's protest, George continued. "Have your last family abused you?"

"God. Why does everyone jump to that? I just don't like physical contact, okay?" Alex snapped. "People touching me and all that. I never have liked it."

"That's fine. I'll keep that in mind." George said. "John isn't fond of touching either." 

A tan skinned boy-slightly taller than Alex's height-and covered in freckles walked over to Alex. He had long hair, just like Alex did, only it was curly and tied back in a ponytail. Alex didn't have to guess that this was autistic John. Not only did the turtle t-shirt give it away, since he was told that John loved turtles, but John was the only teen he hadn't been introduced to yet. Alex didn't know what he was expecting, but John certainly didn't _look_ autistic. 

"Is this Alexander?" John asked. 

"Yes, this is Alex." George said. 

John hummed and twirled a pencil in his fingers. He stared at Alex emotionlessly. "He's kind of small, isn't he?"

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, John." Hercules said. "Aaron could see that and he's _blind_."

"Legally blind-"

"It's still blind, John." George said.

"He doesn't even have the cane-"

"He doesn't need the cane yet." Hercules said. "He's fine. Beyond the fuzzy vision and the blind spots anyway." 

"He's going to fully lose his vision soon, John. Probably before his eighteenth birthday." George sighed. "Martha!" He called out, startling Alex. 

"Yes, George?" Martha called back. 

"Can you come here, please?" He asked. 

They all waited in silence for Martha to come to the bottom of the staircase. When she arrived, her eyes softened and she walked towards Alex. 

"You must be Alexander Hamilton." She went to hug him, but George waved his hand. 

"He doesn't like touch."

Martha nodded and put her hands back to her sides. "Okay. Well, I'm Martha. And I'm George's political advisor." 

"I like politics." Alex said quietly. 

George chuckled. "I like this kid." He smiled. "Okay. Martha, can you take him to get something to eat and drink? Also, a more pressing issue is his need for painkillers for his arthritis. He's ran out and he can't take ibuprofen because of his kidney trouble."

"They think I'll need a transplant." Alex muttered. "When I was a kid I got Yellow Fever. It made my kidney problems worse and that's when I needed dialysis."

"It says in your file that the Yellow Fever _caused_ the kidney failure." George frowned. 

"No. The juvenile rheumatoid arthritis did." 

George's eyes widened slightly. "Okay."

"You're going to give me up, aren't you?"

"No, Alex. I'm not." George said. "I'm just annoyed that your medical records aren't accurate. It's nothing to do with you. It's bad doctors. Martha, get the poor boy some painkillers." 

Without touching him, Martha led Alex into the living area. 

As George continued talking to John, Lafayette decided to head back upstairs. They walked to their room when they heard a noise coming from Aaron's room. Almost like he'd thrown something against the wall. Or fallen over. Lafayette left their room in concern for their brother and knocked on Aaron's door. 

"Go away." Aaron said.

"Aaron, are you okay?" Lafayette asked. 

"I'm fine." Aaron snapped. 

"Aaron, can I come in?"

"No."

Lafayette sat down on the floor outside Aaron's room. "Do you want to build a snowman?" He asked in sing-song.

"Ha ha ha." Aaron grunted. 

"I remember when you first came here." Lafayette said. 

"Bully for you." 

"I'm sorry your eyes are getting worse, ma frère." Lafayette said gently. 

"I'm scared, Laf." 

"I know, Aaron. I know." Lafayette sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! An update! I haven't forgotten this story!


	4. Wait For It

Aaron was sitting against the door in his room. It's not that he didn't want a new sibling. That had little to do with why he was upset. He didn't know why he was upset. He couldn't say. Maybe it was just all a part of growing up. Or maybe it _was_ the new sibling because in his hands he held a photo of a happy family. A woman, a man, a little girl and a baby girl. Everyone but the baby was smiling-the baby was simply staring on ahead. The photo was being held in a gold colored frame. Tears prickled Aaron's eyes as he looked at it. He held the photo up to his chest, afraid that he would actually sob aloud and Lafayette outside would hear it. 

That was _his_ family. Aaron's original family. His mother. His father. His sister, who he hadn't seen in a decade. He missed her. He had no way of contacting her, no way of knowing if she was even still alive. His sister might be married by now. She might be a he, just like Aaron. If either of those were the case, then Aaron didn't even have a name to go on. But he remembered what it used to be; Sally Burr. Just like he remembered what his own name was. 

He pulled the photo from his chest. That baby girl. It was him. He was so young when his parents died. He didn't know them. He didn't remember his mother and in time, what little memories he had of his father would fade. And if the ophthalmologists and doctors were to be believed, even if Sally was still alive, Aaron would never see her again. 

Aaron had been Deaf since he was born. Not fully. He'd always still had _some_ hearing. But after the meningitis, it got worse. He couldn't hear at all. And when he was diagnosed as being legally blind last year. Aaron had to make a difficult choice. He didn't want the cochlear implants put in. He was afraid of losing his place in the Deaf community. But he was going to lose his sight. His world would be black and he was afraid of that too. He took the cochlear implants. They gave him some of his hearing back, though not as much as he used to have.

He took another look at the photo. He hated that he was a girl in that photo-Aaron Burr was a _boy_. Aaron Burr was  _not_ a _girl_. It annoyed him. But it was the only family photo he had. The only photo of his parents. The only photo of his sister. Everyone looked so happy. There was no indication that his mother would get pneumonia and die. There was no indication that his father would have a heart attack and die. And that made Aaron angry. His parents were taken from him for no reason. His sister was taken from him for _less_ than no reason. They should be together. Why weren't they?

"Aaron?" Lafayette asked from the other side of the door. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Aaron replied, hoping his voice wouldn't betray him. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the door.

"Okay." Lafayette said, not quite believing their brother.

Aaron continued to stare at the little girl in the photo. Everything about her was beautiful. He thought back to the last time he'd seen Sally. He was six. She was ten. He remembered that before CPS split them up, she was smiling. He never thought that he would hang onto that smile for the next ten years. He combed his mind for details. Sally had the most beautiful brown skin, dark brown eyes that almost looked black, an infectious smile. She was gentle and caring, always looking out for Aaron. And now this photo was all he had to remember her by.

It made him wonder how she remembered him-if she even did. If she even _could_. Where she was. In New York, probably. Not Virginia. And she would remember him as _her_. Even thinking that made Aaron's skin crawl. He was a he. He'd always had been a boy. But female is how he'd been forced to identify as a young child, back when he had no choice in the matter and when Sally knew him. Aaron knew that if he wanted to find his sister-and he did, desperately-then he'd have to do whatever he could. 

"Aaron, are you still crying?" Lafayette asked. 

"Uh-I wasn't crying, Laf." Aaron lied. He took his phone out and opened up Facebook. 

"There's no shame in crying, Aaron. You miss your parents. Your sister. Your hearing. Your eyesight." Lafayette said. "I miss my parents. And I miss my legs." 

"I wasn't crying, Laf." Aaron repeated. He listened to Lafayette talking about how he should open up more as he created a new Facebook profile for himself. There's no way Sally would recognise Aaron Burr as being her brother. Or sister as she would believe. She would recognise Aaron Burr as her father. That was true. Aaron _did_ get his name from his father. But no, this one was under his birth name; Rachel Burr. _This_ would get Sally's attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Alexander Hamilton here. Sorry. Let's just say that John's talking his ears off about turtles.  
> Aaron Burr really did have an older sister called Sally Burr! He was also Aaron Burr Jr, his father being Aaron Burr Sr. However, in real life, Sally was a year older than Aaron, not 4 years older. I took some creative licensing there. Siblings are often separated in foster care, so it's not too much of a stretch that Aaron and Sally wouldn't have seen each other in years.  
> The Deaf community is opposed to cochlear implants and I tried to show that here with Aaron's feelings. But the thing is, Aaron's not just a normal Deaf person he's blind to go with it. So he's a bit of a special case.  
> I chose Aaron's birth name as Rachel because most of the trans people I know choose names for themselves that are nothing like their birth names. Somehow, I don't exactly believe 'Erin' to 'Aaron', particularly that 'Erin' isn't a biblical name, it means 'Ireland' in all the Celtic languages I know words of-Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish and Welsh. I'm not sure about Breton or Manx. Aaron Burr Sr and Esther Edwards Burr, who have Biblical names themselves, also chose Biblical names for their children-Sarah (Sally) and Aaron, which is why I went with Rachel. Also, Aaron Burr Sr was a minister, so it's very hard to imagine that Aaron Jr-of any gender-wouldn't have a biblical name.  
> Esther Edwards Burr actually died of smallpox, around a year after her husband, but since there was definitely no smallpox in 2001, I improvised.  
> It's not mentioned in the chapter, but Aaron actually has Usher Syndrome Type II. The hints are there though-he was born hard of hearing, became blind in his teens and has dark patches in his vision-the main symptoms of Usher Syndrome Type II. He can still see, but his vision is severely restricted.  
> Aaron's sassy and cocky personality is a front and Lafayette is the only one of his siblings to see that. Really, Aaron is just a scared 16 year old.  
> I wrote this chapter while listening to Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah and Johnny Cash's version of Hurt. I dare you to do the same.  
> I hope I did everything right.  
> One last thing, this time to lighten the mood, my autocorrect keeps trying to change Aaron Burr Sr into Aaron Burr Sir. Wrong Aaron Burr.


	5. I Gotta Holler Just to Be Heard

"That's a softshell turtle. My favorite. But I love all turtles. But this," John pulled out another drawing. "That's actually a terrapin. You can tell-terrapins are smaller and they're sometimes kept as pets. If I could have a pet turtle, it'd be a terrapin. You know, although 'turtle' and 'terrapin' seem to have the same meaning, they're not actually the same thing. I mean, all terrapins are turtles, but not all turtles are terrapins, you know what I mean?"

Alex simply stared at John with a look of confusion on his face. 

"John, slow down. Take it easy on the poor boy!" George chuckled. 

"Sorry, George." John said. "Sorry Alex." 

"So what do you like?" Hercules asked. "Like... Food or TV or movies or whatever?"

"Uh... I don't know. I don't know." Alex shrugged. "I don't know."

"You must like something, right?" Hercules asked. "What about sports? Laf loves sports. They'd be able to talk to you about sports."

"I don't like sports." Alex said. "I mean, football and cricket are pretty big in uh... Nevis. But I never uh, followed them. I also lived in St Croix... Horse racing is popular there. Don't like horse racing either. And back in New York everyone loved the Yankees. Except me. I don't like baseball."

Hercules leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "Well, you're just a bundle of fun." He said. "What about movies?"

"We couldn't afford to see movies." Alex said. "But my first foster family-I guess my adoptive family... They took me to see a movie. Monsters University." 

"Oh yeah! I love that one." Hercules smiled. 

"And with the Jacksons, I also saw Shrek."

"John likes Shrek, don't you?" 

"I like a lot of movies, to be honest." John said. "Especially if they have turtles in. Turtle. Turtle. Turtle." He paused. "Turtle."

"Why do you do that?" Alex asked. "The turtle thing?"

"I don't know." John shrugged. "I just like saying turtle. It's a funny word. Turtle. Turtle."

"TV shows?" Hercules interrupted. "You _gotta_ like TV shows, man."

"I don't know." Alex shrugged. 

"What about food?" 

"Well, my mom used to make the best goat stew. Before she died."

Hercules looked at Alex in disgust. "You eat... _Goat_?"

"Hercules, he's from the Caribbean." George said. 

"But, George, he eats goat!" 

"I also like seafood."

"Oh, well that's okay then. Goat eater!" Hercules snapped.

"In the Caribbean, goat is a popular food." George said. 

"That doesn't make it okay!" 

"Hercules, go to your room." George said calmly. "Research what they eat in the Caribbean. Specifically St Kitts and Nevis and St Croix."

Hercules nodded. "You're on." He said, leaving the room. 

Almost at that exact moment, Lafayette came into the room. "George, Aaron's locked himself up in his room again."

George sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Leave him be." 

"Leave him be?" John asked. "Aaron's brooding."

"Aaron broods a lot." George replied. "Just leave him be."

"Okay." John nodded and turned to Alex. "So what does goat taste like?"

* * *

That night, Martha called everyone into the kitchen for dinner. Alex was the last to enter because of his routine. He slipped into the kitchen unnoticed and sat down next to John.

"So what are we having tonight, Martha? Is it goat?" Hercules asked, looking over to Alex. 

"We're having pizza." Martha said. "I didn't want to cook any meal that I knew Alex wouldn't like, so we're having frozen pizza."

"But Alex doesn't like anything except goat." Hercules said. 

"Actually, I like pizza." Alex said in a quiet voice.

"With a goat topping?"

"Hercules!" George snapped. "Stop it now!"

"So, Alex, what's it like having cancer?" John asked. 

Alex was caught off guard. "Uh..." He blinked. "I guess it's the same as being sick. Normally sick, I mean." 

"Yes, but bear in mind that Alex's 'normally sick' is horribly sick for the rest of us, John." Martha said.

"That's right. Alex's health is fragile. More so perhaps than that frail classmate of yours, James Madison."

Alex's head whipped around. There was someone else that was sick all the time like he was. He wasn't alone! That feeling was enough to cause elation to bubble up in his stomach.

"What's wrong with James Madison?" Alex asked.

"His health is poor." George began. "I know his family. We're neighbors. I remember when he was born. Poor little guy's had problems since day one. He was carried to term and yet his birth weight was horribly low. His parents spent a lot of time worrying about him when he was growing up."

Alex nodded. It was similar to his own life experience. "Okay." 

"He's small-skin and bones, much like you. Chances are high that you'll meet him this week." 

"Madison's a little shit." Hercules said. "I love him."

"You mean you love ordering him to do your bidding." Aaron said. 

"Yeah, that's what I meant." 

"Hercules!" Martha said. "I'm surprised at you! You're a bully!"

"Wheelchair people can't be bullies, Martha." John said. 

"Hey, don't call me a wheelchair person!"

"Yes, it's not nice, John." George said. "Please don't do that." He turned to Hercules. "And Hercules, it's not nice to have people do your bidding. You aren't Hitler or Un or Duterte." 

"Or Trump." Lafayette giggled.

"Alright, everyone!" George called out. "Settle down! You must remember that Alex isn't used to this."

Alex took a lock of his hair and began twirling it around his finger nervously. "Is this normal?"

"Usually it's more chaotic, but yes." George said as Martha went into the kitchen. "They're all siblings. They love each other really. And some of them have had really hard lives."

Alex looked at his new siblings. Lafayette was engaged in a shoving match with Hercules and Aaron, on the other side of him, was leaning over the table, trying to break it up. Not really. He guessed it was just the three of them having fun. Especially because John, on his other side, was egging the three of them on. 

"Yeah." Alex said. 

"You know, I have a senator friend. He lives here with his family in the week and goes back to New York for the weekend. He has eight kids, all adopted; like our family." George said.

This piqued Alex's interest and he looked up. "Really?"

"Yes." George nodded. "The younger children are varying ages, but the three oldest would be around your age."

Martha entered carrying four plates. On each plate was a slice of pizza and some fries.

"Martha, I was just telling Alex about Philip Schuyler."

"Whoa-your senator friend is Philip Schuyler?" Alex asked, wide eyed. "I met him once! He came to my orphanage to visit us kids. Two of his daughters went with him."

George chuckled as Martha set the plates down, one in front of John, Hercules, Aaron and Lafayette. "I'll be back with yours in a bit, Alex."

"Okay, Mrs Washington." Alex said. He didn't want to get too comfortable with the Washingtons. They'd still probably give him away, like had always happened to him.

"Please, call me Martha. Or Mom."

"Nobody calls you 'Mom', Martha." Lafayette said. 

"I know." Martha said. "It would just be nice for you kids to call me Mom."

"You know we love you like a mom." Aaron said. "Except for Hercules. He already has a mom."

"That's true." Hercules said. "She comes to see me like... All the time."

Martha nodded and went back into the kitchen. 

"So why are you here?" Alex asked Hercules. 

"Because my dad died." Hercules replied. "Mom couldn't cope alone and she wanted me to have a better life. The Washingtons were my first foster family and they took me in instantly. She wasn't like... Neglectful or anything. It's sort of like an open foster situation. She's still my mom, but the Washingtons look after me."

"Hey, it works for Hercules." George shrugged. 

"My dad's still alive." John said. "But he doesn't love me."

"And that's okay because we _adore_ petit John here." Lafayette looked over at John and smiled warmly. "It's Henry Laurens' loss."

"Does he know you have John?" Alex asked. 

"Knows, yes. Cares, no." George said. 

Martha came back from the kitchen with the remaining plates. She set one in front of George, one for her and the final one in front of Alex. 

It was still hot. Alex could see the steam rising from the pizza and the melted cheese dripping from the sides. It seemed he had the smallest slice, not that he minded. He had a lot of fries to make up for it. 

"Okay everyone, eating time." Martha announced as she sat down at her place at the table. 

Lafayette was the first to grab their fork and shovel food in their mouth. Alex had his fork in his hand and watched Lafayette with his eyes wide and he was amazed that nobody else seemed bothered about Lafayette's eating. He figured it must be regular.

"How did Aaron come here then?" Alex asked, poking his pizza with his fork. 

"Same way you did." Aaron replied as he sliced his pizza. "Medical issues that nobody wanted to deal with." 

"How long have you been with Mr Washington?"

"Two years." Aaron replied. "My hearing and vision have got worse since then. They haven't given me up yet."

"And we won't, Aaron because we love you." Martha said. 

"I know." Aaron said. "I love you too."

"Would you like to talk later, Aaron?" George offered. 

"I'm fine thanks." Aaron replied. 

"Okay. But you know I'm always here if you need me." George said. 

Lafayette's fork fell to the plate with a clatter. "I'm finished." They announced.

"Good for you, Lafayette, but you still have to wait for everyone else." Martha said.

"Actually, I don't think I want any food, sorry." Alex put his fork down gently. 

"That's fine, Alex. You don't have to eat it if you don't want." Martha said.

"Why does Alex get a free pass?" Hercules asked. 

"Because it's Alex's first day with us." George replied. 

"Can I be excused?" Alex asked.

"You may." George nodded.

Alex pushed his chair away from the table, which made a horrible scraping noise, almost like nails on a chalkboard, and then he left the room. 

"If Alex gets to leave, so do I." Lafayette pushed their chair away from the table.

"Lafayette, you stay." Martha said.

"Alex has a very long day ahead of him." George said. "We will be going through some things down at the hospital tomorrow."

"Do we have to go?" John asked.

"No, John." Martha answered. "You, Lafayette, Hercules and Aaron will be going to see a movie with me tomorrow. We might even go shopping." 

"Um... Yay?" Hercules said. He put his fork on his plate. 

"You'll probably be back home before Alex and I will." George said. 

"Why?" John asked. 

"Because Alex..." George paused as he thought of something to say. "Alex will probably need medical treatment tomorrow."

"Yeah, but why?"

"No more questions, John." Martha said. 

"Is life here always going to be this weird?" Aaron asked. 

"Define 'weird', Aaron." 

"Well, George, you can just tell there's a weird atmosphere in the air here. Something feels... Off."

"That would probably be Alex." Martha said.

"Yes, we need to get used to him and he needs to get used to us." Lafayette said. 

"That's right." George said.

"It felt like this when you arrived, Aaron and Hercules." Lafayette continued. "Not John. He liked us straight away, but-"

"It's just our family growing." Martha interrupted. "Right now, we don't know whether it's complete or not. But there's apprehension all around. Mainly because Alex thinks that we're going to give up on him like all his other foster families."

"But... We wouldn't do that." John said. 

"That's right, John. We wouldn't." George said. "Alex just needs time to understand that."

"How much?" Aaron asked as he put his knife and fork on the plate. Everyone was now waiting for only John to finish his food. "Time, I mean."

"I don't know." George said. "The longest time he's had a foster family for is two months. So perhaps that. But perhaps longer."

"Two months?" Aaron asked.

"Or longer." Hercules added. "That's a long time. Obviously. I just said it. You know, maybe you should make goat soup to make him feel more at home. You could stick Tom Brady in it for all his spying and football deflating-"

"Hercules!" George snapped. "That's enough, son."

"Whatever, I was only saying." Hercules muttered. 

* * *

Upstairs, Alex was looking through his journal. At all his writings about his previous foster families. The ones in the West Indies. The ones in New York-all the ones in New York. Now Virginia. Why would the Washingtons be any different than the Jacksons, the Lees, the Joneses, the Williamses, the Harpers, the Stevens... Es. Nothing. Nothing would be different. Nothing would change. And Alex was used to that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John Laurens drew pictures of a softshell turtle. They truly are ugly little things. I have pictures I've taken of them from my visits down on the south east coast. Honestly, I don't know why John Laurens was so fascinated with them, but each to their own.  
> The types of turtles people keep as pets are terrapins. Either that or they're not actually turtles at all, they're tortoises. And John is correct when he says that all terrapins are turtles but not all turtles are terrapins.  
> Football and cricket are big sports in the West Indies, particularly cricket. However, football is bigger on the island of Nevis than cricket. Over in St Croix, horse racing is the big sport. And baseball is also a big sport in the West Indies, particularly in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. That's right. Usnavi is also a West Indian.  
> In the West Indies-particularly St Kitts and Nevis-goat stew is a comfort food. As is seafood.  
> James Madison was-like Alexander Hamilton-small and sickly.  
> Historically, Alexander Hamilton met the Schuylers a few years before he actually got to know them. And Historically, he got to know her because she stayed with relatives, who were good friends with the director general of Washington's medical department-and his personal physician.  
> With regards to Hercules' arrangement, some parents do that.  
> Tom Brady is mentioned because some people call him the GOAT. I support the Pats, but that doesn't mean I can't take digs at my team every now and then. Also, I don't think Tom Brady is the GOAT.


	6. The Challenges You're Facing

Alex had been in his room awake half the night. Thinking about things. Dreading the Washingtons giving him up. He was under the covers of his bed-not that he could think of it as his bed. To him, it was just the Washingtons' spare room. He was under the covers, on his side, just staring on at the wall ahead.

Martha had come in shortly after everyone finished dinner and brought Alex a sandwich. She had also watched him eat it, as she was worried about his blood sugar levels, with Alex being diabetic. Alex nibbled at the sandwich slowly, but finished it. Satisfied, Martha picked up the plate and left.

After that, Alex had checked his blood sugar levels, got into bed and... there he was.

Before he knew it, there was a knock on his door and the sun was shining. Alex concluded quickly that he had fallen asleep.

"Alex, it's time for breakfast." The voice belonged to Martha. She was the only woman in the house.

As Alex sat up, he wondered if it ever got lonely for Martha, being the only woman.

* * *

Ten minutes later, after checking his blood sugar levels, injecting himself with insulin and getting dressed, Alex wandered out of his bedroom. He passed a bedroom with a closed door. As he passed another bedroom, the door opened and Alex jumped back in surprise.

"Sorry." John said in monotone, not sounding very sorry.

"You startled me." Alex said.

"I'm sorry." John repeated.

Alex took note that John slept in the lava lamp room. "Lava lamp, huh?"

"It looks cool." John said. "I like watching it when everything gets too much."

Alex nodded.

"I hear talking!" A French accent. Had to be Lafayette.

"I nearly opened the door on Alex!" John shouted.

"Come on in, Alex! I don't bite!" Lafayette called out.

John blinked and looked at Alex, as if he were studying his face, but avoided looking in his eyes.

It was then Alex realised that John still had his pyjamas on. He wasn't familiar with pop culture, but he knew enough to know that John's pyjamas were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pyjamas. Alex side stepped around John, who tracked Alex, and walked down the hall.

"In here, mon ami." Lafayette waved from the floor of their room.

Alex looked. The first thing he noticed was that Lafayette was sitting on the floor, baring their stumps for everyone to see. The horrid looking scarred things they were. The second thing was that Lafayette slept in the colourful room.

Lafayette picked up, what Alex was sure was a sock. They pulled it inside out and bent their right knee to put it on. "Bonjour, Lion!" They said cheerfully, rolling the sock thing up their leg.

"Uh..."

"You have never seen an amputee before?" Lafayette asked.

"Can't say I have." Alex did everything in his power to not look at Lafayette's stumps.

"Turtles." John pointed to his pyjama top.

"What?" Alex asked, turning to look at John.

"You were uncomfortable with Lafayette's stumps." John began. "So I think you should look at my top. I'll tell you when it's okay to look again."

"Hmm, I would take him up on his offer, Alex." Lafayette said. They took another sock and pulled it on over the first.

"No thanks." Alex inched away. "I'm just going to, uh, go."

With that, Alex did go, leaving Lafayette sitting on the floor and John looking at them.

"Maybe he really needed to pee." John suggested.

"I know I really need to pee." Lafayette said loudly as they picked up their right leg. "So I should hurry and put my legs on so I can go to the bathroom before Aaron takes all morning there!"

John flinched slightly at the volume of Lafayette's voice.

"Not funny, Laf!" Aaron shouted back.

Lafayette chuckled to themself and pulled their right leg on. They looked up at John. "You okay?"

John nodded. "I'm fine, Laf." He said. "I'm fine, Laf."

"Bien." Lafayette said. They wiggled their leg with the prosthesis on. "C'est bien."

"Bien." John repeated. "Bien. Good word. Bien. Bien. Bien."

"John."

"I did it again?" John asked.

"Yes."

"Oh." John nodded. "Okay."

* * *

"Hercules! Go and put on some pants!"

Martha's voice again. Alex was walking down the stairs when he heard that. He carried on walking ignoring his aching joints.

Most of the time, it was difficult to ignore. The way they would swell up and get hot was unbearable, but nothing compared to when they would stiffen up. Even on the good days there was always a dull ache. But he would put on a smile and carry on his day, no matter how much pain he was in. Mainly to pretend to others that he was okay.

"Alex, dear, you look pained. Is something wrong?" Martha asked.

"Uh..." Alex paused. Nobody had seen through is act before, not even Lin. "No. Well, I do feel a bit tired."

Martha hummed and put the back of her hand to Alex's forehead.

Alex leaned back slightly. He didn't want her touching him.

"Relax, I won't hurt you." She assured. "I had four children of my own, you know."

"Lafayette, Aaron, Hercules and John?" Alex asked as Martha felt his forehead.

"No." Martha said. "I had four children. They..." she bit her lip. "They all died, Alex."

"Do the others know?" Alex asked.

"Oh yes." Martha nodded. "They know. And so does George. It was after my son Jack died that we decided to foster."

"So they weren't George's kids?"

Martha smiled weakly. "No. I was married before I met George, if you can believe that. You know, he also died."

"Why are you telling me this?" Alex asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear any more of Martha's family drama.

"I'm being honest." Martha said. "I know you've lost your entire family, just as I lost mine. I want you to know that although your family is gone, that it will get better."

"You _replaced_ your family." Alex said.

"I did not." Martha said. "You can _never_ replace loved ones. But life goes on. You realise after a while that they would want you to be happy and move on. You _can_ move on. It's okay to. But there will always be a place in your heart that holds what you've lost."

A silence hung over the two.

"Martha," Alex began, "how did your kids and husband die?"

"That, Alex, is a story for another day." Martha said. "Come on. Let's get you some painkillers and some breakfast."

Alex nodded and Martha walked away, while he stayed rooted to the spot.

Hercules passed in a flash, also wearing pyjamas. This only made Alex wonder if he had broken some kind of code.

"Alexander." Hercules said, reversing to get a better look. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just-Martha-how can she be so happy?" Alex blurted out.

"Ah." Hercules nodded, as if he knew exactly what Alex had meant. "She told you about uh... Danny, Martha, Jacky and uh Patsy, right? Her kids?" He raised an eyebrow. "And her husband Daniel?"

"They named their kids after themselves?" Alex asked. "Wait." He said, realising that his brother was called James Jr after the father he'd never met. "I take it back. Did they really all-"

"Die?" Hercules asked.

Alex nodded.

"Yeah." Hercules said. "They all died."

Alex opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a thudding noise. It was John scooting down the stairs on his bum.

"He always does that." Hercules said. "Easiest to just ignore him. Probably does it because he's autistic."

"He doesn't look autistic." Alex said.

"Yeah, well, you don't look like you've got cancer." Hercules said. "I mean, my disabilities are evident; I got spina bifida, so I'm mostly paralysed and thus use a wheelchair. I got scoliosis, which is obvious if you looked at my back. Lafayette has two prosthetic legs. And Aaron has super thick glasses, contact lenses and cochlear implants. Not all disabilities are visible. And John just does John."

"Bonjour!" Lafayette called out flamboyantly.

Hercules and Alex both turned to see Lafayette slowly descending the staircase in the stair lift. John was still shuffling along on his bum and Aaron was walking with one hand on the rail and the other in his pocket.

"Laf!" Hercules exclaimed. "For god's sake, you're a Paralympic sprinter!"

Lafayette shrugged noncommittally.

"Alex, _these_ are your brothers." Hercules shook his head.

"They're not my brothers." Alex said. "I have biological brothers."

"John has biological brothers and sisters. Aaron has a biological sister. I have a biological brother too. But you know, we're disabled. Most people see it as extra work they'd rather not do. Sad, but true."

"Yeah. It is sad." John said, appearing in front of the two. "What are you talking about?"

"Breakfast!" Martha called out.

John and Hercules shared a glance and rushed in the direction of the kitchen, both moving as fast as they could. Aaron got to the bottom of the stairs and looked over at the two and then to the bemused Alex. "You'll get used to that." He said.

"Oh yes." Lafayette said. "They are just, how you say, competitive."

"And you two aren't?" Alex asked.

"We are." Aaron said. "But the stair lift isn't quite done with them yet." He jerked a thumb towards Lafayette.

"And I am a competitive sprinter." Lafayette added. "It would be, how you say, unfair of me to compete in the Breakfast Rush."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "The breakfast rush?"

"What you saw from Hercules and John." Lafayette said as the stair lift came to a stop. They unbuckled themself from it and stood up.

"Hercules said something about Martha Washington's dead family..."

"Ah, oui." Lafayette nodded in understanding. "Two didn't survive past age six. One had epilepsy and died of a seizure. The other was shipped off to the Iraq war and was killed there. Her husband died of a sudden cardiac arrest."

"Oh god." Alex's eyes widened. He thought the hurricane was bad.

"My parents died in a car crash, as I told you." Lafayette said.

"My dad also had a heart attack and died." Aaron said. "Mom got sick and couldn't shake it."

"Ditto. On the mom thing." Was all Alex could say. It seemed everyone in this house had lost as much as he had. And he wasn't used to that.

Back in the orphanage, although it was called an orphanage, Alex was pretty much the only orphan there. Sure some kids had lost a parent, some kids had parents who couldn't cope, some kids were kist unwanted, some kids had parents in jail, while others had parents who were both alive, but plain neglectful. Maybe that was another reason he and Lin had gelled so much; Lin was also an orphan. Though while Alex was in the foster system, Lin had been raised by his paternal grandparents; both of whom were still alive.

"So, are you coming for breakfast?" Lafayette asked. "It would be unwise of you to miss a meal. You are diabetic, non?"

Alex nodded and followed Lafayette and Aaron into the kitchen, where John and Hercules were already at the table eating.

"Good morning, Alex." George greeted. "Sit down and have some breakfast. You have a hospital appointment in an hour."

Alex wordlessly sat at the table, only wondering if George had also had a family who died.

Martha put a plate with toast on in front of him. "Eat." She said, gently.

Alex picked up one of the pieces of toast and turned it over, as if to examine it.

"It's not going to kill you, Alex, it's just toast." Hercules said.

"Well, that's not really true, Hercules. There's a real chance that he could choke. Then the toast would kill him." John said innocently.

Alex balked and put the toast down.

"John. Toast is unlikely to kill anyone." George said. "We've been over this, son."

"Yeah, just because _you_ can't swallow bread, doesn't mean other people can't either." Hercules said.

"Hercules, that's enough." Martha said firmly.

"Martha, I don't want my egg." Lafayette complained.

"It's Sunday. We usually have pancakes on a Sunday." John said.

"Yes, well, this is Alex's first day with us." George said.

"All the more reason to have pancakes for breakfast." John said.

"John, I am not making you pancakes for breakfast." Martha said.

John whined and looked down at his plate of egg and toast. "Pancakes."

Sensing what was about to happen, George stepped in. "John, son, how about you come with Alex and I to the hospital. We can go to the IHOP for some pancakes." He suggested.

"But they're not Martha's." John began fidgeting and flapping his hands agitatedly.

"I know that, but-"

"Pancakes are on a Sunday. There's no pancakes." John whined. He held his arms and rocked back and forth in his seat.

"Here we go." Aaron muttered to himself.

Hercules backed away from the table slightly.

Lafayette simply kept poking at their unwanted egg.

To Alex, it seemed they were familiar with this type of situation.

George went to John's side. "John, it's okay. Look at me, it's fine." He said soothingly.

"No!" John exploded, crying and thrashing out. "No! No! No!"

"It's okay, John. It's okay." George said calmly.

John didn't listen. He couldn't listen. He was crying, screaming and punching himself in the leg.

"John, it's okay. It's fine. Just don't hit yourself." George said, still calm. He tried to take John's hand, if only to protect John from his own actions. "You're going to get a bruise."

John punched George in the arm, who took it in his stride. He turned to the others. "Lafayette, can you get the fidget toys and the turtle plush?"

Lafayette dropped their fork. "Can do." They stood up and hurried out the room.

"I'm done." Aaron said.

"Me too." Hercules said.

"Okay, boys. Go and watch TV." Martha said. "Alex, why don't you go and join them?"

Alex said nothing. He simply nodded and followed Hercules and Aaron into the main living room.

"What was _that_?" Alex asked, still looking kind of fearful.

"John's autistic." Hercules said. "He doesn't like change."

"That was _scary_!" Alex said.

Aaron and Hercules shared a glance.

"If you say so." Aaron said. He sat down on the sofa and picked up the remote.

"Hey, I get to decide what to watch today." Hercules said.

"No way!" Aaron snapped. "It's _my_ turn! You'll just turn it on something stupid!"

Hercules scoffed. "Like what?"

"Last time _you_ had the remote, we were forced to watch RuPaul's Drag Race all day!" Aaron said. "I _hate_ RuPaul's Drag Race!"

"Well _you_ had us watch PJ Masks and Miraculous Ladybug!" Hercules countered. He tried to grab the remote.

Aaron pulled the remote away. "That was _John_!" He said. "Besides, _you_ had us watch Project Runway!"

Alex looked at the bickering foster brothers. "You're arguing over TV when John hit Mr Washington!"

Hercules and Aaron looked at Alex.

"You know Elsa, right?" Hercules asked. "Well, she _let it go_. Time for you to do the same."

"And _you_." Aaron said. "Because I'm having the remote today!" He turned the TV on.

Lafayette walked into the room. "Ah. You're forgetting that today is actually my day." They said. "And as it's my day, I say we should watch the Gilmore Girls on Netflix."

"Bull." Aaron folded his arms aggressively. "It's only because Gil _more_ sounds close to your first name Gil _bert_."

"So what if it is?" Lafayette asked. "At least I can own it, Mr I Love Bob The Builder But I'm Sixteen So I'm Going To Just Hide It."

"I do not like Bob the Builder!" Aaron said.

"Then why did you have the captions on?" Hercules asked accusingly.

"Everything's captioned-I'm Deaf!" Aaron said, pointing to his hearing aid. "Bitch, I don't hear good!"

"Aaron!" Hercules gasped in an exaggerated fashion and put his hand to his mouth.

"You swear too, Hercules." Aaron said.

Alex stared on at the three in bewilderment. John had just hit George Washington and they were acting so cool and casual about it. George and Martha Washington would probably be on the phone soon to their social worker... um... Was it Leslie? Yeah, probably. Leslie-and he would take John away.

"Alex? Are you okay?" Lafayette asked, noticing Alex's staring.

"What was that?" Alex asked.

"A meltdown." Hercules said. "Autistic people have them when they're anxious or upset."

"Just don't bring it up again." Lafayette added. "And ignore when it happens."

"Why?" Alex asked.

"They embarrass John." Aaron said.

"So I should just carry on as if nothing happened." Alex said.

"Yes." Hercules said. "If you're stressed, it stresses out John. It'll make him worse."

Alex simply nodded. "Well, I'm gonna, uh... go..."

"Sure." Lafayette said. "Bye."

"Oh look, Arthur!" Aaron blurted out as Alex walked out of the room.

Alex still wasn't sure of his way around without one of the others to show him the way, so it took him a short while to find his way to the bathroom. Before he got there, he met George Washington on the stairs.

"I was looking for the bathroom." Alex said sheepishly.

"And I was just looking for you in your room."

"What were you doing there?" Alex asked defensively.

"I was just bringing John up to rest. I noticed you didn't eat anything at breakfast, son." George said.

"I'm not your son." Alex snapped. "And I _did_ eat."

"No, you didn't." George said. "I was watching you. I watch you all. And after you left, where you were sitting, there was a plate with toast still on it."

"I injected myself." Alex said defensively.

"I didn't ask that." George said. "But you have to eat _something_. I'll take you to McDonalds on the way to your appointment."

"Uh..." Alex couldn't find the words to say anything.

"The bathroom is the third on the left." George said. "I'll wait for you at the bottom of the stairs to take you to your appointment." He walked down the stairs.

Alex watched him walk down the stairs and walked up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, he decided to turn right and see how John was doing. He walked down the hall and noticed John's bedroom door was open. So, naturally, he peeked in.

In his room, John was sitting on his fluffy rug in the dark. He had earmuffs on and his eyes were closed as he was flapping his hands like a bird or something.

Alex figured John was doing okay and so he went back down the hall to look for the bathroom again, though thanks to George Washington's directions, he found it much quicker. And despite the various coconut oil products strewn all around the bathroom (Lafayette's no doubt), he was able to do what he needed to do and get out quickly.

True to his word, George Washington was indeed waiting at the bottom of the staircase for him.

"Are you ready, Alex?"

"No." Alex mumbled.

"Well, nobody's ever ready for anything." George said. "The best thing to do is to just do it."

Alex simply shrugged.

"Come on then." George said, grabbing his car keys from a bowl with other keys inside. "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What up! I did not forget this story. Life happened and I know it's shit, but give me a break please y'all.  
> You might be interested to know that some of this chapter was actually written before and during the Hamilton musical that I got to see a few weeks ago.  
> I actually got my amputee friend to take off her prosthetic leg and put it on in front of me just so I could write that Lafayette scene so I hope you appreciate the accuracy.  
> When I described the ache of Alex's joints, that was the ache I was feeling in my own joints. I hope you appreciate me channelling my pain into creative energy.  
> Martha Washington did have four kids and a husband before she met George Washington. Daniel and Martha both died before they turned six. Daniel, I believe died at age three and Martha at the age of five. Patsy died at age seventeen of an epileptic seizure and Jacky died in the Revolutionary War-just like Hamilton and Laurens, he was one of Washington's aides-de-camp. The latter two were Washington's adopted kids too. Martha's first husband Daniel Custis died of a heart attack.  
> "Why are you telling me this?" "I'm being honest." Is indeed from Right Hand Man.  
> Hamilton had biological brothers as in plural. He definitely had two, but he might also have had a third.  
> The toast thing-I cannot eat it without choking. I'm pulling some dark humor on myself there. On my gravestone it's literally going to read 'beloved daughter. Has no legacy. Choked on toast and died.'  
> Meltdowns in autistic people are caused by anxiety. Anxiety like a change in routine for John. Follow Hercules, Lafayette and Aaron's instructions and George's example if you come across anyone having a meltdown. That is educational. Follow the Ten Meltdown Commandments:  
> Number One: Try to stop it before it happens, by getting the autistic person away from what's distressing them; offer fidget spinners, ear defenders, headphones, anything. Or let them try to calm down on their own terms.  
> Number Two: If it does, keep calm-don't shout, don't panic. Be like Goblet of Fire book Dumbledore, not Goblet of Fire Movie Dumbledore.  
> Number Three: For the love of god don't stare or assume they're having a temper tantrum. If they're a kid, don't assume they're spoiled. Meltdowns are embarrassing.  
> Number Four: Also, remember a meltdown is a fight or flight response. Adrenaline is pumping. Lashing out can happen and you could be injured.  
> Number Five: Don't restrain them or stop them from rocking, flapping, anything that's not harming themselves or anyone else.  
> Number Six: But do stop them self harming.  
> Number Seven: If possible, get them to a safe place away from what's distressing them.  
> Number Eight: If you can't do that, offer some stim toys, like a fidget spinner. Or if you know them well enough, their comfort item.  
> Number Nine: Leave them to calm down.  
> Number Ten: I'll say it again, public meltdowns are embarrassing. Don't bring them up after or talk about it unless the person who had the meltdown brings it up. We can't help it. We don't ask for it. We don't want it.  
> Hercules would like the fashion shows. Lafayette would like the teen dramas. John would like cartoons-particularly the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And secretly, so would Aaron. And of course they would argue about who got the remote so they could watch their shows.


	7. ... France

True to his word, George did stop in a McDonalds Drive Thru on the way to the hospital to get breakfast. An Egg McMuffin and some orange juice. Alex picked at it in the car, but as they approached the hospital, ate it fully. 

Alex walked with George into the children's hospital. He was sixteen. He didn't need to be in a children's hospital. What was wrong with a regular hospital?

"Alex, we're going first to the rheumatology department. See if we can get you some better drugs for your arthritis." George explained. "Then we're going to the renal department for your kidneys. You will be needing dialysis soon, I imagine. Then lastly, we'll be going to oncology."

George Washington didn't need to say anything else for that one. Alex knew perfectly well why he was going to oncology. And he thanked him internally for not mentioning why.

"Come on." George led the way and Alex followed. He seemed to know the way, but then again, with four other disabled kids, George probably did know his way around.

As they walked, they passed the ENT. Then they took an elevator and passed by the PICU and coronary. George paused to talk to someone working the x-ray reception and then they were on their way again, down the hall. 

"George. Fancy seeing you here."

Alex looked up from his feet to see a tall black man and his much smaller... son? The son definitely had problems. He was using some kind of walking frame. And he... kind of looked like Hercules. But _way_ scrawnier.

"James, hi." George greeted happily. "This is a surprise too. It's Sunday."

"Ah..." The man, James sucked his teeth. "We both know our kids come first."

That was when Alex realised he recognised this man. "You're a Virginia representative." He said. 

"Yes I am." The man James said. "You must be George's new foster child."

"Alexander Hamilton." He said. 

"How old are you, Alexander?"

"Sixteen."

"Ah!" The man James smiled. "You're the same age as my son!" He gestured to the small boy. "This is my son, also James. We call him Jemmy-"

"Dad." The boy James cringed.

"Sorry."

"Alex, this is James Madison." George said.

"He's the frail guy you mentioned yesterday?" Alex asked. "The other guy who's always sick?"

"Yes." George nodded. 

Alex cautiously took a few steps towards James Madison. "Hi." He greeted. 

"Hi." James Madison greeted in return.

"I take it you were going to rheumatology?" James Sr said.

"Yes, Alex has numerous health issues." George said. "Arthritis being one of them." 

"You have arthritis too?" James Jr asked in a sort of slur. "I've never met any other kid with arthritis."

"Neither have I." Alex said. "What's that... Walker thing?" He asked. "Is it because of your arthritis?" There were a million more questions he wanted to ask. 

"It's a gait trainer." James Jr said. "And no. It's not arthritis related. It's because I got cerebral palsy."

Alex nodded. He knew what that was. 

"Alex, we're going to rheumatology now." George said. 

"Oh, well, so are we!" James Sr announced brightly. "That gives Alex and Jemmy time to get to know each other a little better." 

"Da-ad!" James Jr grunted.

"Sorry."

The four of them walked down the corridor, with James Sr and George leading the way and talking and laughing. Alex was lagging behind and James Jr was somewhere in between. 

Alex was fascinated with the way James Jr was walking. He seemed to struggle to take a step. Each time he lifted his leg it shook until he put his foot back down, with his foot pointing inwards. Like he was wading through molasses. And he had the walker thing dragging behind him, yet he seemed to be leaning on it.

James Jr seemed to notice Alex watching and turned his head around. "What?"

"Nothing." Alex said, quickly catching up. "I guess I just never seen anyone walk like you."

"Well... now you have." James Jr said. "I know, I'm pretty jerky." He coughed into his hand.

"Uh, yeah." Alex nodded.

"I can't help it." James Jr said. "It's my conditions."

"I'm always sick too." Alex said. "I never met anyone else who knows what it's like to be in near constant pain."

"Oh yeah?" James Jr looked at Alex.

"Nobody else seems to get me."

"You live with George Washington." James Jr said. "They've all got something."

Alex nodded. That was true. Lafayette was a double amputee, Hercules used a wheelchair, Aaron was deaf and blind and John was autistic.

"Try being the oldest of seven and the only disabled one." James Jr continued. "That's not fun. But I guess I got Thomas and he's my best friend." 

"I don't have any friends." Alex lamented.

"Are you coming to school?"

"I... don't know." Alex had never really had formal schooling before. He'd only ever had tutors.

James Jr nodded. "Well, if you do, I'm the class president." He stopped and put his hand out for Alex to shake.

Alex hesitated briefly, seeing that James Jr's arm was stiff and kind of shaky. But he shook it anyway. The other teen certainly didn't look very presidential.

"Yep I'm not going to bite you." James Jr chuckled weakly.

That wasn't the only thing that was weak about him. Everything seemed to be. For starters, he was smaller than Alex-compared to him, Alex looked like Shaquille O'Neal. Without the weird flat earth thing. And his voice-so weak. He just sounded every bit as timid as he looked. And he looked way younger than sixteen. Try twelve. Then again, the way he stood stiffly with his legs bent, it probably wasn't doing much for his height. But he couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds-and that was Alex being generous.

Alex continued walking, this time ahead of James Jr, who lagged behind. Like wading through molasses indeed. 

George stopped at another reception desk. This time, not to say 'hi'.

"I have an appointment for Alexander Hamilton." He said.

Alex walked over to George, curiously.

"Let me guess, George. You've taken in another disabled kid."

George chuckled. "You know me so well, Henry."

"Right. Well, I'll let him know. You go take a seat." Henry pointed over to the waiting room.

"Come on, Alex." George walked over, with Alex following him, and he sat down on a plastic chair in the waiting room. There were no other families there.

"Mr Washington-"

"Please. Call me George."

"Mr Washington... am I going to go to school?" Alex asked.

"Yes." 

"Oh."

"I believe it's important for you to have an education. Do you not want to?" George asked.

"I just... I've _never_ been to school before." Alex said.

"I see." George nodded. "Well, you would be in the same class as Aaron, Hercules, John and Lafayette as well as James, our neighbour, Thomas Jefferson and Senator Schuyler's daughter Eliza, if that makes anything easier." 

"Considering I don't know Thomas Jefferson and Eliza Schuyler... no." Alex said.

George smiled. "Don't worry. They're friendly."

The two James Madisons walked over to the waiting room. James Sr took a seat first without any problems. "Hey again, George and Alex."

James Jr let go of his walker and his posture got instantly worse. He took about three steps to the chair and sat down stiffly, again, his feet pointing toward each other.

"Hello, again, James." George greeted with a smile.

"Senator Washington." James Jr pulled his walker closer to him. 

While the two men talked, Alex examined James Jr. All of his limbs were stiff and his muscles seemed tense. His legs far more than his arms.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer." James Jr said.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Alex asked.

"Yes." James Jr said. "It does."

"How bad?" Alex asked.

"I got arthritis in my hips. So that hurts." James Jr said. "As you can see, my muscles contract. That causes pain. Especially when I stretch. So I wear orthoses. And those hurt too."

"Sucks." Alex shrugged. "I got arthritis too. It's in my knees though. And I got about a million other things on top." 

James Jr chuckled weakly. "Snap."

"Asthma-"

"I got that too."

"I also have diabetes." 

"I have epilepsy."

"Kidney failure."

"Cerebral palsy."

"And I have cancer too."

"Okay. Your life is officially worse than mine." James Jr conceded.

"Wait, George-your kid has _cancer_?" James Sr asked.

"Yes." George nodded. "Yes he does. The way I see it, his needs are no more complex than Hercules, Aaron or Lafayette." 

"I know why you chose to look after disabled kids, George. But cancer's going a bit far don't you think?" 

"Well, James, if Jemmy or Francis or Nelly, god forbid, had cancer, you would still love them and look after them. Wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would. They're my kids."

"I don't see it any different." George explained. "Lafayette, Aaron, Hercules, John, Alex, they're _my_ kids. If Martha and I didn't care about them, who would?"

James Sr hummed. "Yes. I know what Henry Laurens did. I must say, I never liked him anyway."

A doctor came into the waiting room and took one look at Alex. "You must be Alexander Hamilton." She said.

Alex nodded.

"Well, I'm Dr Hampton. And I'll be seeing you today." She said with a smile. "Would you like to come on through?"

* * *

 

John tread carefully down the stairs, still wearing his ear defenders. Everyone would be watching TV now. Who's week was it? Last week was Aaron. That meant that week was Lafayette. And next week would be John's day. A whole day of watching PJ Masks. 

John liked PJ Masks. He liked a lot of cartoons. Miraculous Ladybug. Bob's Burgers. Archer. Rick and Morty. Elena of Avalor. PJ Masks was good. Owlette was the best. Whose week was it again? Oh yeah. Lafayette's. Which meant having to watch teen dramas. But at least it wasn't Hercules' week, which meant watching fashion shows. And Aaron who could never decide what to watch. 

John began to wonder what Alex liked. Did Alex even like TV shows? Then a sickening thought came to him-what if the TV schedule changed? What if next week was made Alex's week? It was John's week! The week after that couldn't be Alex's week either-it was Hercules' week! Then it was back to Aaron. Would Alex even get a week? It would be unfair if he didn't. John loved fair play.

John rushed down the rest of the stairs and began flapping his arms. The thought of the schedule changing was upsetting! How could it change? It shouldn't change-John was happy with the way it already was! But Alex needed to watch TV too... and nobody had talked about it changing. But it _would_ change and John knew it.

John walked the lower floor of the house. Past George's study. Past Hercules' bedroom. Past Martha's study. And the library. He went to the den. Only John was allowed privileged access to George and Martha's den. That didn't stop the others from not following the rules and going in though. That angered John. _Everyone_ should follow the rules.

John entered the room to find Martha already there. If Martha was there it was quiet. So he slowly took off his ear defenders and put them around his neck.

Martha swivelled around in her office chair. "Oh. Hello, John."

"Hello, John."

"You can stay. I was just reading." Martha said pleasantly.

"Reading."

"Yes, from the library. A book about Franklin Roosevelt." Martha turned around and picked the book up to show John.

"Franklin Roosevelt." John said. "Franklin Roosevelt."

"He was the thirty-second president."

John looked down at the book. He examined it briefly, then looked back up at Martha in approval. "He was the thirty-second president." 

Martha chuckled. "Yes. Yes." She said. "Did you come in here to draw?"

"Yes. Yes." John said, nodding furiously.

"Well, don't let _me_ stop you." Martha said. "Your pencils are over there." She pointed to the other side of the room.

"Pencils are over there." John went over and picked up his box of pencils as Martha went back to her book.

John loved drawing. He always had done. But he never used to be so good. He still didn't think he _was_ good, but he had heard other people calling his drawings good, so he had to be good, right? But what would he draw? 

Oh! There were books on turtles in the library! He could go for one and look at the picture and copy the turtle! Or he could Google turtles on the internet and use that as a point of reference for his own turtle. He had to draw turtles. They were the best, most amazing animals in the whole world. John didn't understand why people didn't get them. Especially when they're not hunted, most of them actually live twice as long lives than humans; two hundred years! More than that, sometimes, even!

Turtles were really amazing. Turtles. Turtles. Turtles. Turtles.

"Turtles. Turtles. Turtles." John muttered to himself. With his free hand, he began to flap again. "Turtles. Turtles. Turtles. Turtles."

Wait-was he saying that out loud? Ugh. No wonder Ben didn't like John back. He was just too weird. And he'd never get a boyfriend.

"John, is something wrong?" Martha asked, noticing John's sudden silence.

"Something wrong?" John said.

"Is your favourite pencil broken?" Martha asked.

John had reacted this way before when his favourite pencil-the one with the turtle print-had snapped in half. He was despondent until George fixed it by taping it back together.

John shook his head in response to Martha's question. His pencil was still taped up, though not at the middle any more. John had sharpened and used it a lot since then.

"Are you hungry?" Martha asked, remembering that John didn't have breakfast like everyone else.

Again, John shook his head.

"You know you can tell me, right?" Martha asked gently. 

John nodded. Then quickly shrugged. He didn't know what he was feeling.

"Oh, John. Whatever it is, don't dwell on it too much. Be happy." Martha said encouragingly.

"Be happy." John said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo!  
> So I introduced James Madison here. And much like Alex, Aaron, Hercules, John and Lafayette, he's disabled. I know he kind of was in history too, but just like with Alex, I made it... Different. I changed it. So now James has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. I knew someone who had that in school. And we really hated each other because she was always out for attention. James will not be like that because now that I'm in university, I know other people with CP and they are way different to that attention whore girl.  
> Mentions of Thomas Jefferson.  
> Dr Hampton is the name of my doctor.  
> So I felt it was natural to write from the point of view of John and honestly, it wasn't even a challenge here like... Easiest thing I ever wrote.   
> My nephew loves PJ Masks and his favourite is Owlette. He is very weird and I'm pretty sure just does his best to stand out.  
> Autistic people love justice and fair play! We have strong views on this and generally, we all have that streak of justice. But as the saying goes, if you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person. We're not all like this.  
> John is repeating what Martha says. This is called Echolalia. A famous pop-culture example is Brick from The Middle, when he whispers a the word at the end of his sentences. I do it. But I don't copy what people say. I usually repeat phrases until they lose meaning-sometimes what people say, sometimes if it's on TV. Martha is a good mother because she has learned to communicate with John when he goes into this mode. She doesn't demand that he speak properly. It's how all people should really talk to people like this, but sadly, ignorance is rife.   
> I wrote from John's point of view because when people talk to echolalic or not typically verbal people, they assume that the echolalic/not typically verbal person (this goes for Deaf and mute people too) has a 'mental age of a child' (I hate that phrase. It's so icky), when most often, the person is, well... They understand you. Just because they don't communicate the way you do, doesn't mean they don't understand you.   
> There are two things John likes-turtles and boys. John is gay. Autistics in pop culture are often portrayed as asexual, which really needs to stop happening. (says the autistic asexual-lol). So yeah. John is gay and he has a crush on a boy in his class.


	8. Stay Alive

Lafayette's teen dramas were getting way too boring and predictable. Especially true since even the blind guy could see what was coming next.

Aaron did his best to tune out and stood up from the couch. He knew where he was going-he was going to the library to read. His favourite book as a child was Harry Potter. All of them. He didn't know which was the best, so he classified the whole series as a single book.

Aaron would read Harry Potter a lot, it became his comfort thing. He could relate to Harry Potter. They were both orphans in care, after all. Like Harry Potter, Aaron's parents had died when he was a baby. They had both lived with family, Harry Potter with his aunt and uncle and Aaron with his strict grandparents. But they died too and Aaron and his sister had been taken away and separated. Aaron went to live with other families before settling with the Washingtons. Harry Potter went to Wizard school. Aaron liked the books because it gave him hope that there was something better going to come along.

Of course, he couldn't read the books like everyone else in the house could. Not anymore. All those blank patches obscured his vision too much for him to be able to read tiny printed words on a page. So George had bought him a copy in Braille-one of Philosopher's Stone, one of Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban and so on. They, like most other books, were kept in the library.

Aaron felt his way to the library, by running his fingers across the wall. Sure he still had some vision, sure he could see where he was going for the most part. But it made him feel better since he couldn't totally see or hear everything, in fact, he couldn't hear most things. He had to work at hearing. It wasn't like the cochlear implants were an easy quick fix and he could hear everything.

Inside the library, Aaron knew exactly where the Braille books were kept and found the first volume of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with relative ease. He took the book to the table and sat down. Before reading, he took off his glasses and put them just above the book. He opened the book and began reading the first chapter, running his fingers across the page. Out of habit, he looked down as he did so.

_Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much._

Just that one sentence filled Aaron with great comfort.

Of course his grandfather would have a fit if he knew Aaron was reading Harry Potter. He was all fire and brimstone about everything. It probably contributed to Aaron's atheism actually. Then again, if Aaron's grandfather would have a fit at him reading Harry Potter, he would definitely have a stroke if he found out Aaron was trans. Good thing he was already dead. That way Aaron couldn't be responsible for it.

Aaron carried on reading his book, running his fingers along the raised dots.

_None of them noticed a large tawny owl flutter past the window._

Aaron turned the page.

"Aaron."

Aaron didn't hear the voice. He couldn't hear it. He couldn't hear everything, after all. And he couldn't hear everything clearly.

"Aaron."

Aaron looked up from his page to see Lafayette. Smaller. Sitting down. Were they in their wheelchair?

 _What happened_? Aaron signed, putting his hands over Lafayette's, so he could feel them sign back.

 _Hercules took my leg_. Lafayette said and signed the name sign for Hercules. Everyone but Alex had a name sign in the Washington household. Mainly because Aaron hadn't chosen one yet.

Aaron removed his hand to sign _Why_? He put his hand back again.

 _Fun. I suppose I can't complain, I have taken his wheelchair before now._ Lafayette signed.

Aaron heat his hands on Lafayette's. When did that-oh he remembered. He took his hands away and began to sign.

 _For that April Fools Day prank. Yes. You took it and hid it upstairs in your room_.

Lafayette chuckled and patted their hand on Aaron's arm.

"It's not funny, Laf." Aaron said.

"I disagree." Lafayette said.

"But he took your leg." Aaron pointed out.

Lafayette took Aaron's hand and put it on theirs.

Aaron then put his other hand on top of Lafayette's other hand.

 _It's fine Aaron. He is my brother. I am his sibling. We're only messing around_. Lafayette signed. _You know we all have this relationship._

Aaron removed his hands and signed back. _Kid gloves_.

 _Kid gloves._ Lafayette confirmed.

Aaron sighed. If there was one thing he truly hated-and he knew Lafayette Hercules, and John felt the same way-it was being treated with kid gloves. Like they were fragile, just because they had some sort of disability. It wasn't just their family either. James Madison hated it. Thomas Jefferson hated it. Charles Lee hated it. John Schuyler hated it. Peggy Schuyler hated it. Maria Lewis, well, she actually liked the attention sometimes. But only when it was on her terms. When it wasn't, she hated it too. And Alex probably hated it too, being chronically ill and all.

 _There's nothing worse than kid gloves_. Lafayette sighed.

Aaron rolled his eyes. _Except maybe inspirational_.

Lafayette shuddered at the thought. _You can sign that again_.

 _Inspirational is worse._ Aaron signed.

 _Come on. Let's go get my leg back_.

"But I was reading Harry Potter."

"Mon ami, you can read Harry Potter when you're dead."

 _How can I? I'll be dead_. Aaron signed.

Lafayette simply responded with a chuckle.

Aaron sighed and reached for his glasses before following Lafayette out of the room.

The two teenagers crept about, looking for Hercules along the entire lower level of the house.

That was about the time George walked in, followed by Alex.

"What's going on here?" He asked. "Lafayette, why are you in a wheelchair?"

Lafayette shrugged. "Because why not?" They said. "Kylie Jenner fashion statement."

George raised an eyebrow.

"Lady GaGa fashion statement?"

"Why do you only have one leg?" George asked.

"I took a catnap on the couch watching 90210. I heard the air go into the socket of my prosthesis and by the time I realised what was happening, Hercules was already across the room waving my leg. He put it in his lap and... left. I couldn't hop after him because I don't have a leg to stand on. I don't know where he is." Lafayette replied.

"How did you get the wheelchair?" George asked.

"Commando crawling is good sometimes, even when you're not in the army."

"Right." George nodded. "Hercules!" He shouted.

It took a minute or so and a few more calls of 'Hercules', but he eventually wheeled himself into the hall, looking kind of sheepish.

"Yeah, George?"

"Hercules. _Gilbert_."

Lafayette gulped. They knew it was serious because George had used their first name.

"This ridiculous prank war that's going on between you, I want it to come to an end. Right _now_. Do I make myself clear?" He asked firmly.

"Uh-"

"Do I make myself clear?" George repeated, no more threateningly than the first time.

"Yes, George."

"Oui. Yes, of course."

"Thank you, both. Hercules. Give Lafayette's right leg back."

Hercules nodded and went back to his room.

Aaron and Alex had watched the whole thing unfold dumbfounded.

Alex's jaw was slightly agape.

Around a minute later, Hercules returned with Lafayette's leg in his lap. He handed the leg back to Lafayette, who put it in their lap.

"Thank you, Hercules." They said.

"No more of that, you two. You're both sixteen. You should know better." George said and turned to Alex. "You should be going to bed now. You've had a long day of being poked with needles and you've got your first day of school in the morning. Martha or I will bring you a snack before we go to bed so your blood glucose levels don't dip too low."

"Okay." Alex nodded, grateful for the reprieve. He walked over to the staircase-which didn't look all that grand, now that he thought about it-and began climbing up. He turned around to look at the family, still convinced they would give him up.

As he looked, he noticed that Lafayette was slower at moving in a wheelchair than Hercules was. But Lafayette should be quicker. After all, Lafayette was an athlete and Hercules was a budding tailor. It just didn't make sense to Alex at all.

Aaron walked back towards the library to continue reading his beloved Harry Potter.

* * *

George was the one who made dinner that night. He went to the study to see if Martha was there. She usually was on Sundays. The kids' bickering often got on her nerves so she would go and read or do work in the study. Just as George often did himself.

While some people saw George fostering disabled kids as weird, or saw him as some kind of hero (he wasn't!) or that the kids needed to be pitied or treated like they were fragile or seen as inspiring... George knew better than that. Disabled or not, they were still kids. And they deserved to be treated with respect.

Some people saw Hercules using a wheelchair and they ignored him in favour of George. Or bent down to him and talked to him in a kid voice. George knew Hercules hated the assumption that George was his carer rather than his parent.

George also knew that Lafayette hated to be considered 'an inspiration' for anything other than their athletics achievements. And that they had been called 'inspirational' just for walking down the street and going to school like a 'normal' teenager. As far as Lafayette, George and Martha were concerned, Lafayette was a normal teenager.

George walked into the study to see Martha working as usual and John sketching turtles. As usual.

"Martha."

Martha swivelled around in her office chair. "George. You're home earlier than I expected."

"Alex had his medical evaluations." George said.

"I see." Martha nodded. "What happened?"

"John." George cleared his throat. "Why don't you go to the library and sketch? Martha and I have to talk about something private."

"Okay." John nodded. He took his pencil and his sketch and stood up.

After John had walked through the door, George closed it and turned back to Martha. "Well, Alex starts chemotherapy on Wednesday." He began. "His diabetes is well managed. His asthma is well managed."

"What about his other illnesses? George?"

"Well, we've been advised to keep him on a low sodium diet. He can't have too much potassium or too much protein, which could make his kidney disease worse. He isn't to take ibuprofen or aspirin-but he's too young to take that anyway. So we've been advised to use pain relieving gel for his flare ups. He has to have regular blood pressure tests. If he goes in remission, it might be possible for him to have a kidney transplant."

"If he _doesn't_ go into remission?" Martha asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer. In fact, she probably already knew the answer.

"He'll die." George said.

* * *

John didn't go to the library, Aaron was already reading there. So instead, he went to the family room-where Hercules and Lafayette were sitting. Hercules was sitting on the couch. Lafayette was sitting in a wheelchair with one of their legs between their knees.

"Hey, John." Hercules greeted. "You okay?"

"George and Martha are talking." John said. "They wanted privacy."

"What were they talking about?" Lafayette asked.

"Alexander Hamilton." John said. He took a seat next to Hercules. "I think he's coming to school with us."

"Oh. Well, that'll be interesting." Lafayette said.

"Laf, don't do that. It's gross." John said.

"Yeah, _really_ gross." Hercules agreed.

"What, I was only drinking-"

"From your leg." Hercules said. "Come on, man, you wear that thing. You walk on that thing. It's got your gross leg in it."

"My leg is not gross." Lafayette insisted. To make a point, they slowly lifted their prosthetic leg and put their lips to the socket. They tipped their head bad as they took a long drink of whatever liquid had been resting in the socket.

Hercules screwed his eyes up and looked away "Gross!" He exclaimed. "Don't do that!"

"Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" John whined.

"You're all sweaty and everything!"

"The sweat doesn't get inside the socket!" Lafayette said. They tapped the liner on their leg. "The sweat is mostly in the-"

"No!" Hercules roared. "I don't wanna know about your nasty shit."

"I know how you use a catheter." Lafayette argued.

"I don't drink from my catheters!"

"No shouting!" John said. "Too loud! Too loud!"

"Sorry." Hercules muttered.

"Yeah. Sorry." Lafayette said.

George walked into the living area. "Dinner's ready. Hercules come with me, it's your turn to set the table. John, Lafayette, I'll see you in five minutes."

"Good luck, Hercules." Lafayette sniggered.

"Hey, shut up!" Hercules growled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaron reads Braille. Aaron likes Harry Potter. I also like Harry Potter. And I can read Braille. I'm not blind or otherwise visually impaired. It's just... when one kid has disabilities, they get lumped in with other 'special' kids. That's what happened to me. I learned Braille from the blind kids. I have read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Braille, but I can't remember where the page turn, so I guessed. But there are like five different volumes for the same book.  
> What Aaron and Lafayette are doing is called Tactile ASL. Some deafblind people fingerspell-Helen Keller was famous for doing that. But there is a language for deafblind people to communicate, Tactile ASL. They put their hands on the signer's hands and feel the signs. Lafayette doesn't feel Aaron's signs because they are neither Deaf nor blind. They switch from sign to speech because Aaron is still learning and making the use of his what he has left of his senses. Lafayette patting Aaron's arm, that's the Tactile ASL sign for nodding in agreement.  
> Yes, I'm introducing more disabled characters. Can anyone guess what disabilities Thomas Jefferson, Charles Lee, John Schuyler, Peggy Schuyler and Maria Lewis might have? Some have their historical disabilities.  
> Lafayette and Hercules are engaged in a prank war because they are being siblings and that is what normal siblings do. They are normal siblings and George and Martha are giving them a chance to be. Their pranks on each other are just somewhat different because of their disabilities. If anyone else did that to them, they would treat it as assault. It's only because they are family that they let the other get away with it. Please, don't steal mobility aids, even if it is for a prank.  
> The 'I don't have a leg to stand on' joke is a favourite of amputees.  
> Fragile, brave, heroic, inspirational, baby talk, ignoring the disabled person in favour of the companion (who generally isn't the carer) are all things I and other disabled people don't like.  
> Low sodium, protien and potassium diets are recommended for those with CKD and kidney failure. Ibuprofen is not recommended because it goes through the kidneys. Paracetamol and Naproxen are okay, but pain relieving gels are best. If you are under 18 DO NOT take aspirin, regardless whether you have CKD or not. It can lead to some nasty complications for your growing bodies.  
> My amoutee friend does drink Coke and beer and stuff from her prosthesis. It's quite gross, but cool. They aren't sweaty because the liners-usually gel-and socks protect the stump and you know, keep the prosthesis socket clean.  
> Lastly, I feel I should say this; DON'T EAT LAUNDRY DETERGENT PODS! Seriously, please don't. I have vision problems after one popped in my eyes when I was five-just don't do it!


	9. Helpless

The next morning, true to his word, George woke Alex and the others. Lafayette was the first into the bathroom, annoying John and Aaron.

Downstairs, Hercules was already at the breakfast table. Toast was on the menu on Monday as Alex found out when he went downstairs.

It was a good day for Alex. His knees weren't hurting as bad as they usually did and there was only a dull ache in his other joints. It was practically ignorable! So he was on cloud nine for that alone.

"Hey, Sherlock." Hercules greeted.

"Sherlock?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." Hercules shrugged. "You remember? Like how Lafayette is Dr House. Aaron is Daredevil. And I'm Professor X."

"Then who's John?" Alex asked.

"Donatello." Hercules replied.

"The sculptor?"

"The Ninja Turtle."

"Oh."

"Good morning, Alex." Martha greeted. "I would ask what you would like for breakfast, but we've decided to stick to routine, which keeps John happy." She said. "Breakfast this morning is toast, but you can choose the topping-butter, jam, marmalade, peanut butter, chocolate spread... Wait. You're asthmatic. You're allergic to peanut butter, right?"

"No. I don't have food allergies." Alex said.

"Well, something he doesn't have. That's amazing." Hercules said sarcastically.

"Hercules. Stop it. I've warned you about this before." Martha said. She turned back to Alex. "I thought asthmatics had food allergies? James Madison has asthma and a peanut allergy."

Alex shrugged. "That's James Madison. I guess not all asthmatics have allergies. Just some."

"So you would like peanut butter on your toast?" Martha asked.

"No. Peanut butter's gross. It tastes icky and sticks in my mouth."

"Don't tell that to John-he swears by the stuff." Hercules said.

"Morning, Martha." George said as he walked in. "Morning, Hercules. And Alex."

"Hey, George." Hercules greeted.

"Um. Yeah. Hi." Alex shrugged.

"Alex doesn't have food allergies." Martha said.

"It says in his file he does." George said, somewhat irritated.

"I know it does." Martha said.

George swore quietly to himself. "Alright." He took a deep breath. "Alright. Alex. We're going to get you registered for school."

"I'm not registered for school?" Alex asked. "Wait, you have to be registered for school?"

"Yes, but don't worry. I can use my connections as a Senator to get you in." George said.

"Oh." Alex paused. "I don't understand."

"You soon will, man." Hercules said. "So you think you're able to survive this mess by being a prince or a princess-"

"Not the time, Hercules." Martha said. She set a plate of toast in front of him and another in front of Alex. The toast on both plates had been cut into triangles.

Alex picked up a knife and the butter and began to butter his toast.

"Whatever." Hercules picked up the strawberry jam and a knife.

Lafayette walked into the kitchen, flamboyantly flicking their big hair. "Bon matin á tous!" They exclaimed.

"Lafayette, please tie your hair back before training." Martha said as she set four new pieces of toast into the toaster.

"Yeah, I will." Lafayette sighed.

"And don't forget your blades."

"I won't."

"Lafayette, you chose to run. You could have done anything else. But you wanted to do sprinting. So stick with it."

"I will, Martha. It's just..." They shrugged.

"Are you having problems?" George asked. "Should I take you back to the prosthetist?"

"That'd be great. Thanks, George." Lafayette said.

"I'll make an appointment while you're in school. I don't want you running on your blades if they're causing you problems. You're just doing damage to what you have left of your legs."

"Okay." Lafayette said. "But there's no problem with the socket, I-"

"I still don't want you running on them." George said. "No running for you today. Or this week. But you need to keep fit.

"Just work out in the gym." Martha said.

"Yes. Work out in the gym." George agreed.

"What's going on here?" Aaron asked. He may have been Deaf and blind, but he could still sense the tension.

"Lafayette is _not_ going running today." Martha said as the toast popped up from the toaster. She put two slices each on a plate and cut them up into triangles.

"Okay." Aaron said, after a brief stunned silence. "Didn't expect that." He took a seat at the table.

"I didn't expect you to comment on it." Lafayette said.

"Hey, play nice." Martha put a plate in front of George and another in front of Lafayette and started the process again.

"We... weren't fighting." Aaron said.

"Yeah, _I'm_ the one who instigates the fights around here." Hercules joked.

John was the last into the kitchen.

"Morning, John." Martha greeted.

"Morning." John said. "Morning. Morning. Morning. Morning."

"Yes, it's morning." Aaron said.

"And we're going to school early today." George said.

"Why?" Hercules asked.

"Because Alex needs to enrol in school."

"Alex is coming to school with us?" John asked.

"Yes. Yes he is." Martha said.

Alex slunk down in his seat.

* * *

 

At the school, Alex had walked down the corridor with George and the others, before they hurried off to their classes. Alex kept walking alongside George until they got to an office-the principal's office.

Alex waited outside while George and the principal talked, which seemed to be forever. It was ten by the time George came out. He had been in there an hour and a half. The principal followed and Alex stood up. Alex wasn't expecting a woman. Then again, he didn't know what to expect anyway, having never been in school before.

"You must be Alexander Hamilton." The principal said.

Alex nodded nervously.

"I'm Principal Adams. And let me be the first to welcome you to Yorktown High School." She held her hand out.

Alex looked at her hand and carefully reached out to shake it.

"Good, good." The principal nodded. "Now, my friend George tells me that you've never been to school before. Is that right?"

"Uh... Yes. Ma'am." Alex said.

"And that you have some pretty complex needs." The principal nodded again. "Well, you wouldn't be the first, as you well know. We will do our best to get a learning plan in place as soon as possible."

"Learning plan?" Alex asked.

"Well, I presume you will be missing some days for hospital appointments and treatments." The principal said. "We want to get you set up for that so you don't fall behind in school."

"Okay." Alex said.

"Are you okay with that, Alex?" George asked.

"I don't know. I don't know school." Alex said.

"You soon will." The principal said. "Alright, Alex. You will be in the tenth grade. A sophomore."

"What does that mean?" Alex asked.

"You've just turned sixteen." George said. "The grade for those who are fifteen and sixteen is the tenth grade. Tenth graders are called sophomores." He explained.

"What's a grade though? No, not what is-why is it called a grade when you get graded on your work? It's something I don't understand. Can't you just use Year One, Year Two, Year Three and so on until the Sixth Form like the Caribbean does?" Alex asked.

"Sixth Form? I... um... That's just the way we do it here in the USA." The principal said. "Have you thought about your subjects?"

"Subjects?"

"What you would like to study." George said.

"I don't know. I've always had that picked for me." Alex said.

"Well, I don't think physical education would be suitable for you." The principal said. "But you can choose anything else."

Alex looked to George for help.

"Okay. Well, English, math, and both hard and social science. They're a given. They're core subjects-core means you have to study them." George explained. "So right off the bat you would be studying English, math, IT, biology, physics, and chemistry."

"Okay. And what about social science?" Alex asked. "Like sociology, psychology, history and geography?"

"Yes." The principal said. "We also have electives; art, drama, woodwork, metalwork, languages, food and nutrition-"

"They sound soft." Alex commented. "What about something harder?"

"Alex, I don't think you should be going for something too hard at the moment." George said. "If you want my recommendation, I suggest going for a foreign language, food and nutrition and creative writing."

Alex nodded. "Then that, I guess." He shrugged.

"Alright. Well, make your way to room thirty-two and you will find your fellow classmates." The principal said. "I'll sort out your timetable for you."

"Would you like me to take you?" George asked, seeing how nervous Alex was.

"Uh. No. I-I think I can make it myself." Alex said.

"Alright. I still need to sort a few things out with Principal Adams. I'll meet you later." George said.

"Okay." Alex nodded.

George and the principal went back into her office and Alex began wandering the halls looking for classroom thirty-two.

The school was smaller than Alex thought it would be. He didn't know why, but he imagined it to be bigger. It was well lit, that was sure. Though that would have something to do with the overabundance of windows.

Eventually, Alex found the classroom and walked in. He didn't know what to expect, since he had never been to school before, but in his eyes, all he saw was a group of hooligans. Shouting loudly, hooting, throwing things... Except for that one guy in the back who was absorbed in his book.

Nobody seemed to notice Alex at the front of the classroom. But they noticed James Madison enter. Then again, the blue walker was difficult to miss. When James faced them, they all quietened down and shut up.

"Right. This-this is Alexander Hamilton." James began, in his slurred type voice. Still so quiet. How could everyone hear him? "He is new. And he's never been to school before. So. So we should make him feel welcome. Alright?" He turned his head to Alex. "Say something."

"Oh. Um..." Alex stared ahead and saw everyone staring at him. All eyes were firmly on him. "I'm from the Caribbean. I've moved around a lot. I was born in Nevis. Lived in St Croix. Bounced around New York for a bit. Now I live here, in Virginia."

"Okay. Guess he's got no hobbies." James coughed into his hand and cleared his throat. "Right. Thomas. Can you show him round? Be his mentor for the week?"

The boy at the back lowered his book and looked at Alex.

It was striking to Alex how much this Thomas looked like Lafayette. Seriously. Where they long lost brothers or something? Maybe there was someone out there that looked like that so Alex could have his kidney.

"Yeah. Sure." Thomas mumbled. "Why not?" He went back to reading his book.

"Thomas is... shy." James said. He couldn't think of another word to describe him. "But he's good when you get to know him."

"O-okay." Alex said. "What happens now?"

"You sit." James said. "There's an open seat next to Eliza."

Alex nodded and went to go and sit down at the free seat next to the girl, Eliza.

Eliza's eyes went wide and she smiled brightly at Alex. When Alex smiled back, Eliza chuckled and turned away. Her phone was in her lap and she quickly sent a text to her sister Angelica; a text that read only ' **helpless <3 <3 <3**'

Quickly, she put her phone back in her jeans pocket before the teacher arrived.

* * *

 

At break time-or whatever they called it, Alex was approached by Thomas. The second thing, Alex noticed-after Thomas looking like Lafayette-was that he dressed down. His clothes were almost shabby. Sweatpants, a torn up pull over hoodie and worn out, dirty, old sneakers. He was carrying the book he'd been reading under his arm.

"Alexander Hamilton." Thomas said. "You-uh. Well, um... James. Told me to do this. So." He shrugged.

The third thing Alex noticed was that he had a really hard time getting his words out. And the Fourth was Thomas' reluctance to make eye contact.

"Oh. Okay." Alex nodded. "So what were you reading?"

"A Brief History of Time." Thomas said, looking down to his book, which was well worn out. "In French."

" _You_ speak French?" Alex asked. It seemed everyone could. His second language wouldn't go to waste after all.

Thomas nodded. "Yeah. I speak languages. I read a lot. Reading is good. Reading is fun. Books are better than people most of the time."

Alex nodded. He wasn't about to argue with that. "You like books then."

"I don't think I'd be able to survive without books." Thomas said.

"Do you like Harry Potter?" Surely _everyone_ liked Harry Potter.

"No." Thomas said.

Evidently _not_ everyone liked Harry Potter.

"I don't like novels. They're a mass of trash."

"So what _do_ you like?" Alex asked.

"Books about math, science, engineering." Thomas replied. "I'm into STEM."

"Do you like _any_ fiction?" Alex asked.

Thomas considered for a moment. "Shakespeare's works are classics. You can't, uh, can't not like them."

"All of them?"

Thomas shrugged and said nothing.

"Well, I like reading too." Alex said, trying to find something in common with Thomas.

"Who doesn't?" Thomas asked. "Well, I suppose dyslexics. And Trump voters." He paused and looked down at his book again. "Mostly the Trump voters."

* * *

 

Outside, Eliza and her sisters were sitting on a bench. Eliza was still wearing that goofy smile.

"Oh my god, Angelica." Eliza said. "I swear it was him-that orphan boy from last year. He has the same long hair and the same nose and the same lips and oh those eyes... Those beautiful eyes... Angelica, I'm helpless."

"Eliza, it's probably not him. He was in New York. This is Virginia." Angelica said.

"So you think it was a lookalike?" Eliza asked. "If so, he was very convincing."

"So you even know the name of the orphan boy?" The other sister, Peggy asked. "Or do you just call him Orphan Boy for the hell of it?"

"I've been calling him Orphan Boy because I don't know his name." Eliza admitted. "But I do know his name now. It's Alexander Hamilton." She said, dragging out the syllables.

Angelica raised her eyebrow. She recognised the name; it _was_ the same orphan boy. "Alexander Hamilton."

"And I sit next to him in class too. Oh he's so amazing, Angelica-"

"Jeez Eliza. You run around kicking a ball, sliding in mud, climbing trees and you're just swooning over this one dude." Peggy said. "It's unreal."

"Wait until _you_ have a crush, Peggy." Angelica said as she played on her phone. "You'll see it differently _then_."

"No way. I'm not into dudes." Peggy said. "Or girls. I'm more into having fun."

"And Eliza was once more into roughing up dudes than crushing on them, but here we are." Angelica shrugged.

"I'm not into dudes." Eliza said. "I'm into one _specific_ dude. Alexander Hamilton. Ohhhhhh his eyes!" She blushed as she spun around happily. "I am in love!"

"Sound the maroons! Eliza's in love!" Angelica said sarcastically.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm having a bit of trouble with this story for a bit later on. I can't decide if James Madison should use a manual wheelchair like Hercules or a power wheelchair. He can stand and walk. But only with orthoses and posterior walker-also known as a fair trainer. Long distances would be a massive no without a wheelchair. But which type? That's what I'm struggling with.  
> Anyway, onto the notes!  
> So the nicknames have been brought up again.  
> Not every asthmatic has food allergies. It's just a small percentage. In my year when I was in school, pretty much everyone but me was asthmatic and nobody had a food allergy. In fact, in an ironic twist, I, the non asthmatic, had the food allergy.  
> Matilda shout out.  
> Lafayette, having been an amputee for five years, would be seeing their prosthetist every two or three months or so. They (prosthetists) would deal with any problem Lafayette would have with their prosthetics, whether it be with the socket-the bit where the leg goes in-or some other part or even a mechanical issue. It would damage Lafayette if they used their prosthetics, particularly as all their weight is going on them. Also, fun fact, generally, prosthetic legs are lighter than actual legs.  
> No uni idea how American High Schools work. Never been to one. But that is how my British secondary school worked. Special needs students had in place a learning plan and a help teacher. I went through so many of them. Compulsory subjects were English, maths, science (Biol, Phys and Chem), History, Geography, Welsh, IT and citizenship-mixed up of sex-ed, first aid, political science and so much more. It was fun, a new subject each week. But since there would be no need for the Welsh language in Virginia, I didn't mention it. I had two electives, French and extra science. But others included PE, RE, art, music, drama, woodwork, metalwork, food and nutrition, health and social care, creative writing and any of those subjects, but in Welsh.  
> Sixth Form is a thing in the UK and the English speaking Caribbean, so also in St Kitts and Nevis, where Alex is from. I don't know how to explain it even though I did it, so if you want to google it, be my guest. Also, in the UK, you used to get paid £30 just for going. I remember those days where they used to pay you to get an education. Now you pay them thousands. Not fair. #JC4PM.  
> Thomas Jefferson. I introduced him reading because that's probably what historical Jefferson would be doing. Historical Jefferson was an avid reader.  
> Yes, Alex, there is someone out there who looks exactly like you. But you'll have to wait to find out who it is.  
> Thomas Jefferson was not known for dressing fancy like. He always drressed down or innapropriately for the occasion and frequently wore slippers to meetings. He also had to be reminded to bathe. Yep. He absolutely was not a good orator either.  
> If A Brief History of Time was out in Jefferson's day, he probably would have read it. Jefferson loved to read and write in different languages too. French, Italian, Latin, Greek, possibly more that I'm forgetting.  
> Jefferson did believe that books were better than people. He also said that he wouldn't be able to survive without books in a letter to John Adams. He also called most novels 'a mass of trash' and preferred academic books. Though he was a fan of Shakespeare and the classics like Homer's Odyssey.  
> Jefferson was absolutely into what we now call STEM. He loved science and reading about science and he loved mathematics as well.  
> Jefferson's opinion on Trump voters and dyslexics do not represent the views of the author.  
> So as you see, Daveed Diggs' portrayal is so far off the real dude, he may as well be playing a different character, but you know what? I still enjoy his bit in Washington on Your Side.  
> Historical Eliza Schuyler was absolutely a tomboy.  
> Peggy is asexual and you see the first hints of that here.  
> If you're too young and don't know what a maroon is, it's a sort of firework, but they're used for communication. Like one rocket for 'man the lifeboats!' two for 'we need the coastguard' and three for 'holy crap, we've been nuked and nuclear fallout is coming-seek shelter and don't come out for two weeks!'.


End file.
